


Thanks for the Memories

by kaitothegreat



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Bad Flirting, Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-05-14 11:33:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 45,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14768790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaitothegreat/pseuds/kaitothegreat
Summary: He melded so easily into her life that she wondered how there was a time when he wasn't around. Neighbour!AU





	1. Moulding

Even though Aoko had a private interview last year after her second book got into the best-selling list, it still felt like it happened just yesterday.

_"How do you get the inspiration to start?"_

Everything, basically. Things inspired her. People inspired her. Current news inspired her. Anything and everything was enough to inspire her. It was so,  _so_  simple—But that was all in the past, before her second book hit the shelves.

For the past few months since her editor called to remind her of her non-existent idea plan, Aoko was stuck with her blank draft and impending deadlines that constantly haunted her. It was the worst thing that happened to her in history (maybe it was an exaggeration in general, but what could be worse than writer's block for authors?) So, just last week, something akin to desperation made her go all the way out and beyond the country to visit a famous shrine, where she prayed for motivation and inspiration to come her way even at the stake of witnessing a crime herself.

And this was her first, painful lesson to not wish for things she didn't mean.

_'Click, click'_

As quietly as she could, Aoko closed the tiny door gap and gently released her knob before all hell broke loose in her head.

_WHAT IS GOING ON?!_

Was it a trick of light? Or a hallucination that came due to the lack of sleep? She tried convincing herself of anything other than the fact she had witnessed a burglar in action, but the image of what she had seen still burnt brightly in her mind—a man was standing along the corridor, his back bent and hands tinkering with the knob of the apartment's door next to hers, which no one was supposed to be staying in now.

And all she wanted was to go to the store to get ice cream for her midnight snack.

 _Keep calm Aoko. Even if anything happens, you know your defences well._ She comforted herself (though the truth was she hadn't been practicing her Judo moves many years since her hands were much busy typing on the computer instead). Besides, she was safe in her own home now while the burglar was still…

Aoko leaned against the door.

_'Click, click.'_

Ok, _still_  definitely outside. She should make a move too. She grabbed her phone from her dining table and dialled.

 _"110, please state your emergency."_ It was a female voice, not that it helped to calm her in any way.

"Hi, yes." Aoko whispered and stepped away from the door in case the burglar heard her. "There is a suspicious man outside the apartment next to mine and he's trying to get in. I think he's a burglar."

_"Please remain calm and give your name and address, miss."_

After Aoko told the operator everything, she was assured that a nearby patrol car would be on its way. The operator asked if Aoko wanted her to stay on the line, but the extreme relief made her reject the offer. She added a compliment for the fabulous job before the call went dead, and two seconds later she found herself very much aware of the fact that she was alone.

Maybe she should have kept the operator on the line.

 _What should I do now?_  Aoko glanced around her house, trying to find an answer until her eyes laid on the notepad on the kitchen counter.

 _Aha_ , maybe she could distract herself with her expertise and write about what she saw. And in case the police needed her statement for the suspect's descriptions, it would be useful. Fishing out a pen she always kept in her back pocket, she tore a paper out of the notepad and began to write:

_He was tall, with broad shoulders and built that was resulted from numerous visits to the gym, but his well-proportionate shape gave the impression he went there to keep fit rather than to impress. He kept his face shaved and clean, which didn't fit the unkemptness he allowed his black hair to be. It could be genetics, or that was exactly the style his was going for as it paired casually with his white shirt and jeans…_

Aoko cringed as she stared at the paper. She highly doubted the police would want such weirdly, detailed details, but her hands just reacted to what her brain thought (Trust her to whip out a paragraph just by peeping through a small gap for less than five seconds). Now that she was done with her little distraction… what else should she do? Should she risk another peek? But what if she wasn't lucky enough and the burglar spotted her?

Maybe she could do another hearing check. She placed the paper on her kitchen counter and crept towards the door, leaning against it to pick for any sound of movement.

There was nothing.

She pressed half of her face to the door and strained her hearing again.

Nothing. Completely nothing.

There was only one possibility to the silence outside; The burglar had entered the apartment.

 _This is bad._  Aoko scurried to her balcony.

If the burglar was  _dumb_  enough to invest his energy in such a neighbourhood instead of other districts where the mansions and rich condominiums were, it wouldn't be surprising if the  _dumb_  burglar eventually realized there was nothing to rob next door and decided to climb over to her balcony, just because he was  _dumb_  to think there was no one at home too.

Apparently the designer of the apartment building must have had the idea of creating a friendly community between the neighbours, which lead to the balconies being built closely together with no walls in between. Aoko wasn't sure how her other neighbours living below her floor felt, but at least she was fine on her side as there wasn't anyone staying next door since the first day she first moved in two years ago. After all, Jii—the landlord—had mentioned it would be kept empty due to personal reasons.

Now she regretted not minding when  _this_ happened. But again, what were the chances?

Just as Aoko was about to lock her balcony door, she noticed a flash of red light below the building. With curiosity overwhelming her more than fear, she nearly forgotten about the burglar and slipped onto her balcony, leaning forward to see what was causing the flashing red light. It was a parked police car.

The moment she identified the car came a soft knock from the door.

_Save! The police are here!_

She dashed to open her front door.

"..."

"..."

It wasn't the police.

"Hey." The burglar said.

Aoko heard the door slam shut first before she realized she had closed it. But a second later, she realized she hadn't  _exactly_ closed it, and there was a grunting sound she didn't recognise; It didn't come from her.

The burglar slapped her door, trying to push it open. "Goddamn it woman-! You're gonna break my foot."

"I've already called the police and they're coming! Don't try pulling tricks!"

"Wait- what?" The burglar growled and slapped the door even harder. "And I'm not pulling tricks. My foot is going to  _break_ if you continue to-"

"This is the Police." Aoko could hear the thumping of footsteps before two police officers appeared behind the burglar. "What is the situation here?"

 _They finally arrived!_ "Arrest him!" She exclaimed, while continuously squashing her body to keep the door shut between his foot and door frame. "He's the burglar!"

 

* * *

 

"He's not a burglar."

The police handed the ID back to the  _'burglar'_  before returning another ID to Jii, who had come down to explain the situation. And as what Aoko and the police were told, apparently the  _'burglar'_ , named Kuroba Kaito, was her new neighbour, and was just trying to get into his apartment.

The police officer shut his tiny notebook and nodded. "If there's nothing else, we'll be leaving." He turned to look at Aoko, as if waiting for a confirmation. She could only force a weak smile back before they headed to the stairs at the end of the corridor.

"I'm so sorry, Aoko-chan." Jii said, his face scrunched in guilt once the policemen left. "Even though it was a last minute decision, I still failed to inform you about Kaito-botchama's arrival."

"It's fine. It's not exactly your fault. It's a…" Aoko flicked a gaze towards Kaito, who was nonchalantly picking some dirt under his nail. She looked back at Jii with a smile. "It's a misunderstanding."

"I still have to apolo-"

"You've done enough apologising, Jii-chan." Kaito drawled. "Someone, however, has yet to do hers."

A muscle in Aoko's cheek twitched. "I'll apologise for troubling Jii-san to come all the way here in the middle of the night. But I'll not apologise for calling the police."

Kaito raised an eyebrow, silently questioning her with a perplexed look.

"Anyone would obviously think you're a burglar with how suspicious you are outside the door. Naturally, one would call the police. I'm just doing what every other humans would do." She crossed her arms, her throat aching at how she was trying to sound confident (His focused gaze was definitely not helping).

"What about my foot?" He wiggled said foot.

Aoko blushed. Okay, she did intend to apologise and hadn't gotten to it yet, but… "Why did you knock on my door anyway?"

"There's something wrong with the knob and I couldn't open my door. I thought I could use your balcony and climb over-"

"As if I'll believe your explanation and let you in my apartment. I'm not some nine-years old kid."

"That true. You sounded like five when you screamed."

"Jii-san!" Aoko turned and waved a hand over Kaito exasperatedly. "You can't possibly allow such a tenant to stay here!"

The silence was dragged far too long for Aoko's taste.

"There's another thing I've yet to explain, Aoko-chan." Jii's hesitant look made her stomach churn uneasily. "Kaito-botchama isn't just staying here. He's the landlord."

"Landlord…?" Aoko repeated, like the word was the first time she ever heard it. She gaped and glanced at Kaito, his smug face confirming her worst despair to be true. " _H-He's_ the landlord?!"

Jii nodded.

"But I thought you're-"

"I'm helping Kaito-botchama to manage it."

"What is it,  _Aoko-chan_?" Kaito's smirk grew wider. "Scared I'll increase your rent or chase you out? Don't worry. I'm very good at separating my professional and personal life."

Aoko couldn't speak. She lowered her gaze, in attempts to hide the horrification she knew her eyes would look.

"Well, it has been an interesting night." He leaned forward, trying to meet Aoko's eyes, but she pointedly refused to look his way, though her side-long glance she could see his lips curling up to a grin.

" _Kaito-botchama_." Jii sighed, casting Kaito a weary look. And Aoko recognized the look. It was the same one she used whenever Keiko started spazzing about her lack-of-romance life in the middle of their conversation.

For some reason, Jii's words worked wonders to make Kaito stop like what Aoko was inwardly begging him to. "I'll see you again, Jii-chan." He simply said before heading for the door without sparing them another glance.

After the door shut behind Kaito, Jii turned towards Aoko with an embarrassed look. "Once again, I'm sorry."

"...It's fine." What else could she really say?

"Even though Kaito is the landlord, I'm the one managing the building. I'll make sure he won't increase the rent or chase you out."

"I'm not exactly worried about that. I'm just…" Aoko shook her head. If she started explaining her insecurities of living next to a man like  _him_ , she could go on for hours. "Anyway Jii-san, why did you speak so respectably to that guy? You even called him Kaito-botchama."

"He's the son of a master I used to serve."

Aoko snorted. "He's some rich heir?"

"He has his own capabilities."

"Then why is he here?"

Jii smiled, a silent and polite sign of not wanting to say anymore. She got the hint, and changed the conversation. "Anyway do you want to stay in for the night? It's late and I have an extra futon."

"It's okay, I'll be driving back home." He thanked her for the offer. "If there's anything you need, please call me. Goodnight Aoko-san."

"I will, and goodnight."

After watching Jii disappeared down the stairs, Aoko went back inside her apartment and spent the next five minute staring at her walls, wondering which part was connected to the one next door.

Finally annoyed that she had spent more time than she liked thinking about her new neighbour's existence, she stomped towards her bedroom, not without passing by her kitchen counter and spotting the note she previously left. Scornfully, she picked it up and reread what she wrote.

 _It'd be a good character profile._ Aoko thought wryly before flicking the paper back onto the counter. But if she ever used it, though, she would need to make some changes—His hair wasn't black. It was dark brown.

 

* * *

 

The first thing Aoko would always do after waking up was to head to her balcony for a quick breath of fresh air. It was an unbreakable routine that she would never change, even if it was already two in the afternoon like now (She had a hard time trying to sleep last night after all). But once she stepped into the afternoon light, the painful realization of how close their balconies were hit her as hard as a truck.

She craned her neck, trying to look past his balcony. She couldn't see anything inside his apartment because of the light shining and reflecting on the glass door, but she could tell it was slightly opened (It had always been shut, with curtains drawn closed since the first day she moved in here).

Aoko knew Jii would keep his promise, and she had studied a little about contract laws to know what Kaito could and could not do, but that wasn't going to cancel her worries about the idea of living next to him…

Giving a resigned sigh (but also grateful she didn't have to see him right after she woke), she returned into her apartment to get herself freshened up. Once she was done, she began ransacking her cupboards and fridge in the kitchen, easily finding plenty of ingredients to cook the fried rice she was thinking about while brushing her teeth. And in the midst of her search, she also found a few extra eggs and some flour too.

The perfect amount to make cupcakes.

Besides writing, Aoko occasionally baked to de-stress herself. It was mind-relaxing and pleasant, and it even once helped to inspire her for a scene in her book, where the murderer suffocated his victim with the dough he used for his cake. Not that she was thinking how she could do the exact same thing with her dough to Kaito, the cupcakes she baked could be used to apologize for his foot.

Yeah. What a brilliant idea.

An hour after gobbling up her rice and decorating her cupcake with chocolate frosting, Aoko found herself shuffling along the corridor with a box of cupcakes in her hands.

 _Alright. This is going to be easy._  Aoko forced herself to smile for better positivity.  _Give the cupcake. Apologize. Goodbye._   _Perfect plan._ Puffing her chest, she strolled confidently towards the door, to only make a sudden detour at the last second and she was outside of her apartment again. She could argue with herself that she was warming up, _if_ she hadn't been doing the same thing for the past fifteen damn minutes.

She really needed to stop being pathetic.

Taking in a deep breath (for the twenty-seventh time), Aoko dragged her foot towards his door once again and forced them to stay rooted to the ground. She could feel her legs shaking from the tension of her muscles as she slowly raised her hand to knock on the door. And just a millisecond away from doing it, the door suddenly flung open, stunning her still with wide eyes and gaping mouth. Opposite her was Kaito, who was equally surprised at her presence too.

Their staring contest ended when Kaito stepped back and raised his arms in mock defence.

"Wow, is slamming my foot not enough?" He let out a loud, exaggerated gasp. "Now you're here to hit me?"

"I'm- I just want to knock the door!" Aoko flushed and put her hand down. Flustered, and almost forgetting the reason she was here, she hastily shoved the box into his chest, forcing him to take it before she let go. "Here! These are some cupcakes I just made, as a-an apology for your foot."

He stared at the box much longer than Aoko liked. "Your tone sounds better than yesterday." He looked up, eyebrows raised. "Is it because you know I'm your landlord?

"I  _am_ sorry for your foot, no matter if you're my landlord or not." She glowered. "If you don't want to accept it, that's fine. You can give my cupcakes back."

There was a glint of amusement in his eyes. "Is this a threat?"

Aoko blinked. "What threat?"

"No one will reject free cupcakes. Which means I'm forced to forgive you."

"Fine. You can _keep_ the cupcakes." She gritted her teeth and gave a quick glance at his attire; She didn't remember him bringing any luggage with him yesterday, but he was dressed in something different. "It seems you're going out so I won't bother you anymore. I've apologised and done what I needed to do. Bye."

"I was about to get some food, but I'm settling for this." Kaito spoke before she could leave.

Aoko stared at him, askance. "That's your dinner?"

"Why? Are you going to preach me about calories?"

"No, it's- it's not a proper meal." Aoko murmured. Those years of taking care of her dad came back like part of her instincts. "Cupcakes should be for snacks or desserts."

Kaito smirked. "Is that concern over me?"

She scowled, inwardly berating her slip of tongue. "I'm stating a general fact."

"Then are you going to cook for me?"

"I didn't imply that!" Aoko exclaimed. She noticed his grin grew bigger, as if her anger was some fuel to his psychotic pleasure. He was definitely teasing her on purpose and she wasn't going to fall for that. Taking in a deep breath, Aoko continued. "You can get the food at wherever you are going to go."

"Well, here's a fun fact." He leaned forward, and she leaned back with equal distance. "It's a little troublesome for me to go out because I nearly broke my foot last night."

Aoko could feel her blood boiling.  _This infuriating-!_  "Here's another fun fact!" She spat. "For the record, you're the one who stuck your foot in between my door in the first place. And you, being the man, to get hurt from something stupid like that, is too much of a credit for me and my strength. Blame yourself for being  _weak_." With that, she whirled around and stalked off towards her apartment, refusing to turn back to see his possible reaction.

Slamming the door shut behind her, she slumped against the wall and let out a low groan.

 _What the hell did I just do?_ Aoko shuddered at her previous outburst and pressed a hand over her chest, feeling her thumping heartbeat. Strangely, he had the special capability to draw out her anger and confidence that no one else could, not that she liked it or anything (It was just weirdly… new to her). But anyway, the main point was she'd apologised and delivered the cupcakes. The end. Her day with her landlord/neighbour was done. Hopefully forever too.

Once she found back her composure and decided to head back to her room to work, she heard the faint sound of Kaito's door closing shut.

 

* * *

 

Aoko didn't realise she had fallen asleep until she woke up to the sound of hammering inside her head. It was so loud and sudden that she jolted from her seat, her eyes fluttering around and then at the laptop that was left open in front of her with a blank word document on the screen. She heaved a heavy sigh as she massaged her temples, until she caught sight of the faint ripples inside her glass of water and realised the hammering wasn't coming from her head but the door.

"What the hell?" She frowned, warily standing up from her dining table to stare at the pounding door. Steadying her breath, she trudged forward, half contemplating if she should grab a mop.

"Who's this?" Aoko barked (She'd learnt her lesson to not open the door so easily unless she knew who was on the other side).

" _Me_ , your fabulous landlord." came the muffled voice she recognized.

Her frown deepened. "What-?"

"Just open the door." The knocking grew louder.

Annoyance masking her expression, Aoko opened the door. But before she could chide him for disturbing her peace, her eyes met his wavering blue ones, and the growls immediately died in her throat.

"…Umm, are you alrig-?"

"This is an emergency." Kaito said as he kicked his shoes and stumbled into her apartment. She let out a short shriek and dashed after him, but he didn't go far as he stopped by her dining table and clutched onto the back of the chair she was just sitting on.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked tentatively, noticing his forehead was plastering with sweat.

He began jogging on the spot, leaning his weight from one feet to another. "I need to borrow your toilet." He said, his tone laced with a hint of desperation

"Wha-"

"Where's your bathroom?"

"Funny how you're the landlord and yet-" She stopped, deciding to spare him from further agony and pointed down the hallway. "You should know. It's the one at the end."

Without a word, he made a dash and shut the door before Aoko could put her hand down.

Although she wouldn't turn down his request even if time repeats (she did empathise with his sense of urgency), it was still a little discomforting to let a man use her bathroom when all her daily but private essentials were in there. Crossing her arms and gathering her patience, Aoko tapped a foot on the floor as she waited for Kaito to be done, and her prayers were finally answered when she heard the toilet flush and tap running. But suspiciously after twenty seconds passed later, the door still hadn't open. And when Aoko was a few steps away from tearing it down, he finally came out with the biggest grin on his face.

"You're my life saviour. Thanks for lending me your toilet." He said with a wink, which Aoko didn't see it coming, especially not from someone who just said the word  _toilet_.

She hummed softly in acknowledgement (She wasn't sure how to be angry after he thanked her). "I guess your front door is jammed? Like, for the thousand times?"

"Yeah." He said, walking past her.

It was obviously a rhetorical question but she said nothing to rebuke. Instead, Aoko silently followed behind him, until they split paths after entering the living room; she was about to head to the front door but he was going for her balcony.

"Where are you going? The front door's there."

If he noticed the curtness in her tone, he didn't mention it. "I'm jumping over."

 _What?_ She grabbed his hand, stopping him. "Are you crazy? What about your shoes?"

His lips twisted into a smile as he glanced at her hand and then back at her. "Worried for me?"

Aoko shrugged his wrist off in spite. "Any human in the world would react the same as me."

"Like you've guessed, the door knob is jammed. There's no other way."

"There _is_." She stomped after him as he entered her balcony. "Which is to call someone in and fix it."

"That's too much of an effort. And I'll collect my shoes later. It's outside your apartment anyway so it doesn't matter to you." With no single hesitation, Kaito hopped onto her railings, his back bent and fingertips barely grasping the handrails.

Aoko let out a yelp. "I'm not going to pay for your hospital bills, you heard me!"

"Optimistic of you to think I'll survive if I fall. But don't worry, I won't fall anyway."

"You-!"

"See?" He straightened and waved at her. "No hands."

Her heart was pounding so loud in her ears that she could barely hear anything else. "Bakaito!" Aoko exclaimed in frustration. Being the cause of her near heart attack, she wasn't sure if she wanted to pull him down or push him off.

But before she had the time to consider her choices, he leapt.

The scream died in her throat as she shut her eyes.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Hey."

Daring herself, Aoko slowly peeled open her eyes one at a time (She wasn't sure if her heart soared because she was feeling assured or surprised to hear his voice).

Kaito was standing in one perfect pieces on his balcony, smiling like he owned the whole world… Well, if it was his ghost she was seeing, he sure had the whole damn world to haunt with his stupid smirk.

Slamming her hands over the railings, Aoko looked down the building. There wasn't any blood or dead body found anywhere. She looked up again.

The way he curled his lips was something not even her imagination or hallucination could do; Original and one of the kind. He was the real deal.

"Are you alright, Ahouko?" Kaito said while studying her under his watchful gaze.

Her inward relief was short-lived. "W-What did you just call me?"

"After you so sweetly gave me a nickname, I thought it's polite to give you one too."

"I have valid reasons for it."

"That's nice." He grinned. " _Ahouko._ "

It suddenly occurred to her that they never once greeted each other with their family names, and of course not with their first-names either (since their facial expressions were enough of an acknowledgment whenever they met). But now... they were calling each other nicknames—and insulting ones?!

"Stop calling me that, Bakaito."

"Ahouko."

"Bakaito!" Aoko bared her teeth. "Should have cursed you to fall off from here."  _Instead of caring so much._

Kaito put a hand over his chest. "Sorry to disappoint but I'm too talented to let that happen."

Aoko rolled her eyes. "Are you from the circus?" She wondered out loud as her mind started to jog with creativity. "Did you quit after some brain damage or get kicked out from the group because of how irresponsible you are?"

"How about an Olympic long jump Gold medallist?"

She blinked, dumbfounded. "You…" She frowned once she realised she got fooled. "You liar. I watched the Olympics, excuse you."

He gave her a long look. "So you weren't joking when you asked if I'm from the circus?"

"No. Same goes for the brain damage part too."

"Aha you're so funny, Ahouko."

"I said stop calling me that, Bakaito!"

"To thank you for lending me your toilet, I'll satisfy your lovely curiosity; I'm not from the circus, but nice try."

"Could have fooled me."

"Maybe not; you're too smart for your own good." He smiled (and it held an indecent amount of seductive charm). "I'll see you around again."

Aoko would have shouted a  _"never"_ if she wasn't so sure it was impossible, unless she decided to move out tomorrow. She considered it for a split second before pushing back the pointless thoughts. Moving would waste too much of her time from settling her deadlines, and she thought if she could survive  _him_ , she could survive anything else. And that seemed like a great accomplishment she could put on her list.

For starters, minimal contact and avoidance would be a good tactic to win.

So, without saying a word, Aoko smiled at him bitterly before stomping back into her apartment.

 

* * *

 

Aoko loved reading mysteries, conspiracies and whatnot, and if she was lucky, inspiration might kick in and she would churn out a few thousand words for the night. Whereas if she wasn't so lucky, she'd end up with sleepless nights.

Tonight would be the first night.

But she didn't regret paying this price for satisfying her curiosity; The cannibalism article was indeed interesting. Besides, it wasn't as if she didn't have a cure for it. If she spent some time relishing the tranquility by herself on the balcony, it would help with easing her tension. Nodding to herself at her brilliant plan, Aoko tossed her blanket aside and walked out of her bedroom and towards the balcony.

Just before she mindlessly slid her glass door open, she jolted when she spotted a shadow—a figure—outside.

It was Kaito (and she was partially relief it was  _him_ , because she would very much choose him over meeting a cannibal right now).

"…What is he doing at this timing?" Aoko said aloud as she pressed her face further into the glass door, her warm breath forming condensation on it.

When the mist slowly disappeared, she blinked, noticing something she wasn't expecting;

Kaito looked sad—

_—bereft, and so very lonely, standing in the middle of the balcony and looking nowhere but below. His shoulder slouched like the world was weighing him down, yet it was ironic because it looked like the world was the one that abandoned him…_

Aoko was surprised to find her heart unknowingly swelled. It was weird, how she could feel like this for someone she thought she didn't care about. She decided to blame it on her level of empathy as an author, and not because it was specifically _Kaito_  she was worrying about.

Without knowing how or why, something strong suddenly compelled within her, and unable to control herself in time, she slid the balcony door open. Kaito heard her presence immediately and turned to watch her—his eyes wide and curious—but said nothing as she stepped onto her balcony.

Squirming under his gaze, Aoko groaned inwardly at what she had done. But it was too late to regret and back out now, so she forced a small smile, which she knew was awkward, and closed the balcony door behind her.

Her minimal contact and avoidance tactic certainly backfired.

It was hard to begin with anyway, thanks to his persistency to start a conversation with her whenever he entered the balcony while she was on hers. But tonight was different. She was the one who entered the balcony while knowing he was there, and he was unnaturally silent on his side, which made her wonder if he was angry at her for disturbing his peace. Taking the chance as she approached the railings, she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes and found nothing in his expression; Unreadable would be the best word to describe him now.

He turned back and continued staring into the same space since Aoko saw him from inside her apartment. Sentimentally, she tried to follow the same. The darkness and lack of light gave her a new perspective of the neighbourhood; Even the ever-beautiful park and busy train station could become so spooky and eerily quiet.

She didn't dare to let her gaze wander too long, in fear her imagination ran too wild and started imagining things she didn't want to see. She glanced at Kaito, who was still looking at the view, impassive and oblivious to her worries. Amidst the darkness and shadows, she wondered what he was exactly seeing… or looking for.

"What are you doing here?" Aoko finally asked. It was her that intruded whatever solitude he was having in the first place, and she thought she owed him enough to be the one that broke the silence.

He looked at her, his blue eyes reflecting under the moonlight. "Enjoying the breeze."

"At two in the morning?" She asked again for confirmation.

"At two in the morning." Kaito smiled, his usual facade slowly coming back to him.

(She wondered where he hid the sadness he had in his eyes a few moments ago)

"What about you?" He asked before the silence came back.

"Enjoying the breeze too."

Kaito raised an amused eyebrow. "At two in the morning?"

"At two in the morning."

She was obviously playing back the game he played first, but he didn't bother acknowledging the point. Instead, he simply nodded, accepting her answer as he turned away. "I guess I understand why you decided to rent this place now."

"What?" She stammered, completely lost at his words.

"The tranquillity; It gives you inspiration, doesn't it?" When she still couldn't understand enough to reply, Kaito continued. "After all, authors need to find their  _comfort zone_  to write, or so I've heard."

Aoko would've done a backflip if her feet weren't frozen to the ground. There was no way he could have known even if he did an internet search about her name—She had used a pseudonym for her books and didn't tell Jii about her job! But if he could correctly guess it out of the thousands options at the first try, he must have had his evidence on hand already.

"How… did you know?" She breathed disbelievingly.

"Observations." He simply said.

She narrowed her eyes. "Are you a detective?"

Kaito straightened, seemingly impressed. "You're remarkable yourself; it's just your second guess but you've picked the job I hated the most."

"Hated the most? Then I guess you're a thief then, and a bad one too." She mocked bitterly. "You can't even break into your own apartment."

He jerked back and laughed. "Not that I'm defending myself but locked and jammed doors are different."

Aoko blinked, catching herself by surprise. "Are you really-"

"Although you work in the creative sector, don't think too much." He looked at her lazily. "It'll be hard for you to sleep."

"If you dare to come anywhere near here…"

"Can't you take a joke?" Kaito looked so relax and she wished she could be the same; Whenever she was around him, she couldn't feel anything besides curiosity and nervousness.

"I'm just warning you. So don't complain if I slam my door against your foot again."

"Are you always this fierce? How does your boyfriend stand you?"

"What the- that is none of your business."

He paused. "So you have a boyfriend?"

"I thought I said it's none of your business."

The smirk that suddenly appeared on his face was too suspicious to ignore. "Alright." He said, glancing away.

Aoko was surprised at his abrupt lack of enthusiasm on the topic, though it wasn't like she wanted him to be anyway. "What's that about?" She asked, referring to his weird grin.

"I got my answer."

She let out a dry laugh. "And what is it?"

He teasingly placed a finger on his lips. "Can't expose my trade secrets."

"Trade secrets? Are you a clairvoyant?" She blurted before she registered what she said.

Kaito laughed again, which Aoko understood why this time. Her answers were getting more and more ridiculous after all. "It's no fun when all questions have to be answered. A little bit of mystery can keep things interesting."

Aoko heard plenty of the same advice for writing stories, but she found it unrelatable for their current situation. She squinted her eyes. "Hmph."

"…What are you doing?" He asked innocently, though his amused grin showed more than he knew.

"Trade secrets." Aoko sneered, still studying him.

"So are you a part-time clairvoyant now?"

"Maybe."

"And what did you see?"

Aoko wasn't sure where to start. Her eyes continued to flicker past his features, trying to search for something; anything. But it was all pointless, of course. She knew she would never be able to dig under his strong facade, so the only  _thing_  she had of him to look at was his face.

His face…

If Aoko was honest with herself, she had to admit he was easy on the eyes. He had a rugged look about him, somewhere between a teenage heartthrob and a grown man. His eyes were bright and inviting with the best shade of blue she'd ever seen, and she would have thought it wasn't possible to ever dull it, that is, if she could forget the emptiness she just saw in them.

Aoko held back her tongue just in time before she let slip and mention about seeing him oddly wistful a while ago. She was ninety-nine percent sure he wouldn't tell her the truth if she asked, but there was still that one-percent. And if that one-percent happened… She wasn't sure if she was prepared for it; Sleepless nights might not be the only price to pay for her curiosity.

Knowing that the silence was stretched for far too long, Aoko quickly cleared her throat. "…You're a smug-ass jerk." She said lamely.

"And?"

"That's it." Aoko replied, hoping her tone was levelled enough. She prayed hard that Kaito wasn't a clairvoyant like she guessed. If he could read her mind… the first thing she'd do, even if it was a bad decision, would be to move out right now and never come back.

"That's it? I was expecting more. Are you sure you didn't take the ten past seconds as a chance to check me out?"

"See? I definitely got the smug-ass jerk correct." She huffed, her cheeks bloated and red in anger. This conversation was getting way too risky to continue; the more she tried to expose him, the more she was actually exposing herself. "Enough of these pointless things and answer my question. How do you know I'm an author?"

He looked vaguely disappointed. "You can't let it go, can you?"

"I can't."

"Fine, I'll tell you how I derive my answer, like all  _great_ detectives do whenever they solve some mystery." Kaito drawled. She noted the disdain in his tone but kept the comment to herself. For now, Aoko was only interested in his answer and she refused to give him any more chance for distraction.

He began. "From my record, you're one of the few tenants that pay rents on time. But I've never seen you go to work throughout my stay here. So I guess you either work from home, or at least your job allows you to."

_Okay, that sounds logical._

"At first I thought you're a stay-home baker." Kaito lips slowly turned into a grin. "Oh, by the way, the cupcakes were good."

Reacting naturally, Aoko's cheeks grew pink  _and_ hot. She bit her lips to subdue her flustered emotions. "Thanks…?"

"You're welcome" He said, his smirk showing more playfulness than sincerity.

Aoko scowled inwardly.  _Is he doing it on purpose?_

Kaito continued. "Anyway, as I was saying, I thought you're a stay-home baker. But I noticed something when I borrowed your toilet earlier this week, and it kinda threw my guess out."

The past embarrassment was temporarily cast aside and forgotten as his words caused the gears in her head to move. "I lacked baking equipment." Aoko elaborated for him.

"Uh huh."

"But-"

"I then considered if you're a phone-sex operator, until I happened to glimpse at your computer and saw a document open, with  _Chapter 1_  as the heading while the rest of the page was blank that day."

Aoko's eyes nearly popped out in horror. Every word that left his mouth was equal to the number of times she wanted to slam the door against his foot  _again_. "You-!"

"I'm sorry for peeking." He raised both hands in surrender. "I really am. And I won't find any excuse to deny that I'm in the wrong, even though you're the one that wants me to tell you the answer."

"What I  _can't_  tell is whether you're really apologetic or not."

Kaito sighed softly and let his arms dangle over the railings. "That said, I'm truthfully not good with apologies."

She considered the possibility that he was bluffing as a joke, but she couldn't spot any sign of mockery in his voice or face. And it surprised her, so much she was at loss for words to answer. She didn't think of what he said as a weakness, but something told her he regarded it as one, even though she didn't understand why it would be.

"So, what do you write?" He asked, saving the silence Aoko didn't know how to break.

She could choose to lie or ignore him, but she was on a higher side of curiosity towards his reaction than wanting to keep her life private from him. "Crime fiction."

"Hmm, you struck me more of a romance writer." He sounded intrigued, as if it was the biggest mystery he couldn't solve in his life.

 _Typical_. "Because I'm female?"

"That, and other reasons."

She rolled her eyes. "Stereotype."

Kaito grinned, seeming to confirm Aoko's claims. "Then of all things, why crime fiction?"

Aoko found herself speaking before she could stop herself. "I wanted to be a detective." She blurted, and quickly bit her lips to stop herself from saying any further (Talking at such an ungodly hour was certainly a bad idea).

" _Oh?_ " He let out a sigh that resembled a laugh. "Then you'll be the first."

" _What_ first?" Aoko scowled. "There are many female detectives out there and-"

He cut in before her rambles escalated to rages. "I'm not referring to that."

"…Then?"

"I mean if you had become a detective, you'd be the first one I'll ever like."

"And should I be honoured?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Maybe?" He chuckled, and she felt like she had lost a competition she didn't remember entering. "Anyway, as you were saying about how you wanted to become a detective… Why the change in career?"

Aoko crossed her arms, barely resisting the urge to stick out her tongue. "Story is over."

"Come on, don't leave me at a cliff-hanger. I hate that."

"I'm an author. And that's what all authors do."

"Then should I write you a fan letter? About how I can't wait for the next chapter?" Kaito stroked his chin thoughtfully before his face brightened up. "If I jump over now and ask for your autograph, would that encourage you better?"

"I'll push you off if you do."

"You're truly a heartbreaker. It really puzzles me why you didn't write romance instead." He said in between his light chortle. "Since you've barely started on your first chapter for your crime fiction, how about a change of genre? I can be a good inspiration."

Aoko rolled her eyes. "No thanks to the offer."

"Are you having writer's block?

She would have yelled at him if he was intentionally rubbing into her bad wound, but he was looking at her earnestly, as though his concerns were genuine and not for teasing. "…Yeah, but-"

"Why?"

Aoko raised both of her eyebrow in puzzlement. "Why? There's no  _why_  in this. It just happens."

"There's always a  _why_ for everything." He set his chin on his palm, looking as if he was bored. "It's a choice you made, unconscious or not."

Her mood soured. "I don't really have a choice about my writer's block-"

"Maybe you haven't figure out what you want to write."

Aoko blinked, taken aback at his words. Besides being unable to find an answer, the sudden shift in mood made her uncomfortable to speak, and all she could do was to let the silence fill in as a replacement for her reply. Their staring contest didn't last for a few seconds before Kaito turned away and stared into the darkness, as if their past conversation didn't happen and she just entered the balcony like before.

Unbelievably, Aoko preferred the  _smug-ass Kaito_  than this  _quiet Kaito_ anytime.

In the midst of pondering what she could or should say to break the awkward silence, Kaito saved her the effort by speaking first.

"Have you considered the feelings of your characters?"

"…What do you mean?" Aoko asked, looking intently at the side of his face. But he wasn't looking back at her.

Kaito gave a half-hearted shrug. "Just a thought. Maybe those criminals you'd written about didn't want to be the person they had to be."

Releasing a breath Aoko hadn't realised she was holding, she mustered the courage in her to ask again. "What do you _exactly_  mean?"

He didn't answer right away as his eyes dropped to the railings. But when he looked up at her, she could tell he'd changed his mind.

"Like I said, it's just a thought."

Aoko obviously begged to differ.

"The breeze is gone." Kaito announced, stretching as he left the railings. Before he retreated into his apartment, he stopped and turned towards her, as if he'd realized he had forgotten something.

And she waited.

But all he said was a "Goodnight," before he was gone after the door slid shut behind him.

Aoko continued standing on her balcony, still feeling the breeze Kaito claimed had stopped.

It was fine anyway. Because when she didn't have too much of an expectation, the disappointment didn't hit her that hard.

 

* * *

 

 

In the same manner how they preferred to avoid divulging about their respective jobs, Kaito and Aoko never mentioned anything about the late night talk on their balcony—The night when they'd let on more things than they should have.

Despite that, Aoko didn't avoid him, and he did the same too (Deep down they both knew it would only magnify the situation than anything else). They would still exchange wry smiles when they met on corridors and squabble with each other whenever they were on their balconies at the same time (which happened almost every day). Sometimes in the heated moment it was inevitable to not mention about their  _jobs_ , but it was never in depth like that night. He would only go about teasing her if she needed him as an inspiration to describe a hot-looking patrol officer for her book, while she'd throw back a sarcastic comments like guessing if he worked in a sewage company, seeing how he was full of shit every time.

Being comfortable with their routine, an easy month had passed since then. But whenever Aoko thought about  _that night_ , it always felt like it happened a second ago. There were times when, out of curiosity, she was tempted to probe into his business and ask if he managed to figure out the burden or worry he carried like the sombre expression in his eyes. Because if he allowed her, she honestly wouldn't mind helping him since it was him—his words—that helped her to figure out some things on her side (though she wouldn't admit this part to him, of course).

"Alright, great. I'll see you later. Bye."

The one Aoko just ended the call with was her book editor, Ozawa (she finally initiated the call after pretentiously ignoring his voicemails and messages), and she had plans to talk to him about the direction of her third book. It was hard to explain through the phone so he agreed to meet at her house, where they could settle easily and go through her ideas.

One thing she realized about the men she knew in her life was that they always lacked the will to get proper meals. Her father was once her main priority, and Ozawa, the brother she never had, became one too. He was always kind and excited for her well-being, and knowing him, he would definitely rush over here after his work without eating or buying dinner even if Aoko told him he should. Without having the need to ask, she decided to take matters to her own hand and cooked him dinner instead. If he wanted to know the development of her third book, he got to eat. That would be the deal.

Aoko tossed her phone onto the couch and bounced to her kitchen, excitedly flipping open the cupboards and cabinets; the spices she needed were there.

It had been a while since she last cooked curry; it was tedious to prepare the ingredients if she was the only one eating. But now that she had someone to cook for too, it gave her the perfect chance to review on her skills.

She began her tasks with comfortable ease; Chopping potatoes and carrots, preparing the meat… It was easy and nostalgic to fall back to these old routines, which struck her that she might actually have missed cooking a whole lot more than she expected. She wondered how different things would be if she decided to be a chef instead.

_"…I thought you're some stay-home baker."_

Aoko turned her head towards her living room, staring at her balcony.

She shook her head, trying to dispel the thoughts as she returned her attention back to her pot. Most of her time was spent in her house, and having that said, it was technically the same as the time she spent with Kaito. Hearing his voice every day must have infected her brain.

After dumping all her ingredients into the pot and letting it go on slow heat, she had a short time for a break. Working on her draft would be too risky since she might end up forgetting about her curry, and there weren't any nice shows on the television at this timing. Glancing at her balcony, Aoko smiled, her choice being made.

Shoving her curtains aside, she stepped out and gave a grateful stretch. Nothing beats having some scenic view to-

"You're finally here."

Aoko jumped, her neck turned to the source of the voice.

It was Kaito, standing on his balcony with his arms folded and settled on the railings. She should have been expecting this, but there were a few times when he executed a stealthy part of him, making him unnoticeable like a phantom.  _This_  was one of those moments.

"What?" She sneered, hoping that she looked as composed as she wanted. Her heart, though, was still beating fast.

"I've been waiting for you to come out. You're taking so long I was considering jumping over." He drawled.

"Waiting for me?" Aoko squinted her eyes. "I don't remember making an appointment with you."

"Appointment?" Kaito tilted his head (His hair was whipped into a mess by the wind, and she wondered just how long had he  _really_ been standing here and waiting for her to come out like what he claimed he did). "Another synonym for a date?"

Aoko rolled her eyes. "What is it that you want?"

"I can smell food from your house."

"Then what do you-"

"What are you cooking?"

Aoko blinked. It wasn't the question she expected from him. She thought he would be complaining how the smell was triggering or polluting his senses. "I- Um… Curry."

"It must be one big pot." Kaito tipped his head towards her, trying to take a peek inside her house. Of course he couldn't see anything from where he stood, but his attempt surprised her that she nearly rushed back inside to hide her undergarments that were hanging near her balcony door.

She took in a breath to steady herself. "One big pot, yes."

"Is today sharing-food-with-neighbours day? I've prepared nothing but I'll still be glad to have some curry from you." Kaito grinned, looking none to apologetic even though she thought he  _should_  be after sounding like a complete ass.

"None for you."

"You have guests?" He asked, giving her an incredulous look. "A guy?"

Aoko gaped. It was a fifty-fifty chance, but he still got it correct.

Of course Kaito noticed her surprised reaction. "Oh," he said dully, crossing his arms. She wasn't sure if he exaggerated the crease of his eyebrows or was really upset-

"Is it your boyfriend?" He added after a pause.

"What about your trade secret, eh?" She crossed her arms back, pursing her lips to a smirk. "I thought you have your clairvoyant powers to check about that?"

"The last time I remembered, I was assumed the role of a sewage operator."

"And you enjoyed the role?"

"Yeah, if I can continue to talk shit with you like this and be offered some curry too."

Aoko plastered a fake smile. "Nice try."

He looked smug at her reaction, but the light in his eyes wasn't shining bright enough; she could tell he wasn't satisfied with whatever he had gotten out of her. But what exactly did he want? A bigger reaction? More contempt-?

"So is it your boyfriend?" He asked again.

Ah. He wanted an answer.

She could imagine him reacting many ways to her answer if she admitted the truth to him, which came in various types of teases about her looks, flat chest and lack of feminine taste. Although he only called her  _Ahouko_ and never explicitly mocked her appearance in a mean and hurtful way that would puncture her self-esteem, that didn't mean he wouldn't do it after knowing that she had… always been single since she was born.

_"You struck me more of a romance writer."_

How ironic.

"Why does it matter to you?" Aoko asked back, refusing to let him have his way.

"Of course it matters. I'm the landlord and I have the rights to know the situations around here." He tapped a finger impatiently on the railing. "I don't tolerate hanky panky."

Aoko choked, her face flushed. "You're being ridiculous!"

"How is my rule ridiculous?"

"I'm not saying about-  _ugh_  he's just a friend, for goodness sake!" She blabbered against her will. "There's no ha-hanky panky!"

He watched her, eyes bored but observing at the same time. "Now that's even more unfair."

" _What_  now?"

"Because your _friend_  gets to eat your curry and I don't," Kaito twitched his nose. "That kinda pisses me off."

"I still don't see how that's unfair." Aoko muttered, unimpressed. "And not-so-sorry to disappoint, I'm busy and I can't be bothered with you anymore. Bye." Before waiting to see his reaction, she stalked back inside to check on her pot while purposefully leaving her balcony door open as the strong smell continued to linger outside. She wasn't petty, no. She was just trying to even their score and letting him have a taste of how infuriating he was to her.

But as what Aoko claimed, she was truly busy to care and bother about Kaito. She spent the next hour cooking rice, cleaning up and showering herself to look proper and not like she had a war. And just in time after she blew dry her hair, a few rhythmic knocks she recognized came from her door, and she excitedly opened it.

"Hi Ozawa."

"Hello." He beamed.

"Come on in." Aoko stepped aside, allowing him to enter. Before closing the door, she snuck her head out of her door to stare at Kaito's closed one. It had been awfully quiet since she left him standing on his balcony alone, and she wondered if he was still at home.

Shrugging to herself and deciding it wasn't of any importance, she closed the door and skipped towards the dining room, where Ozawa stood as he placed his office bag on the chair.

"Did you cook curry?" He asked as he sniffed the air.

"Yeap."

"Your dinner?"

" _Our_  dinner." Aoko put a hand on her hip. "You haven't eaten right?"

He sighed and dramatically wiped a tear in his eye. "You're too kind for this world."

She smiled, being glad that he didn't reject her offer. "Can't afford my best editor to go hungry."

As Ozawa helped with the utensils, Aoko poured the curry over their rice and set the plates opposite of each other on the dining table. They did it in comfortable silence, and eventually settled themselves down once they were done.

"Oh yeah, I didn't know you got a new neighbour." Ozawa said once they began digging into their meal.

It was lucky Aoko hadn't had her first bite yet or she would definitely choke. "What?" She blurted. "You saw him?"

"Yeah, he was climbing down the steps when I was coming up. His name is Kaito, isn't it?"

Aoko's jaw dropped. "Y-You two even introduced to each other?!"

"I couldn't possibly ignore him when he did first." Ozawa explained. "And it wasn't much. I only told him my name, and that I'm your friend. I didn't mention that I'm your editor, so don't worry."

"…He already knows I write." She mumbled.

Ozawa leaned back, his eyebrows raised. "You told him? I thought you wanted to keep it as low-profile as possible."

"He figured it out himself." Aoko grimaced and poked her spoon into her rice. "Maybe he knows you're my editor too."

"That I would doubt so. I think he assumed I'm something else." Ozawa chuckled. "He hid it well, but I sensed the hostility when I introduced myself."

Aoko raised an eyebrow. Hostile and Kaito… didn't quite fit in her mind. "What you do mean?"

"I would say he's jealous."

"J-Jealous? Of what?"

"Jealous of my visit." Ozawa wiggled his eyebrows as he took another mouthful of his curry.

 _More like he's just jealous of the curry he couldn't eat._ But she wasn't going to say that. The last thing she needed was to explain how they talked on their balconies about silly things like this. There was a reason why Ozawa was her editor  _and_  Keiko's close cousin too. The imagination in their genes always loved to run wild.

"He's the biggest flirt I've ever seen. I bet he has dinner with all the other girls in the neighbourhood every day." Aoko scorned, and it was only when the words left her mouth then she wondered if what she said might be true. There were nights when she heard him came back late (thanks to his loud key-slotting-door-jamming sounds), or days when he didn't return home after all.

Ozawa raised an eyebrow. "Now I'm thinking if you're the one being jealous."

"Don't speak such disgusting stuff over the dinner table." Aoko snarled and stabbed a piece of potato as a warning.

He chuckled lightly before carrying on. "Then did he ever ask you? About dinner."

She kept her lips sealed, refusing to acknowledge and admit Kaito's interest towards her curry. "He's never serious." Was all she let herself say.

"Maybe he's always been serious but you're not aware of it."

Aoko rolled her eyes. "Impossible."

"You'll never know."

Of course she would never know. She would never understand Kaito, be it his joking demeanour or not. But she didn't want—need—to know. He was just her infuriating landlord and inconveniently her neighbour, nothing more than that. They would sneer at each other when they met along the corridor, peer into each other's baskets when they saw each other in the supermarket, laugh at each other miseries, mock at each other names, talk in the day, talk through the night…

That- That was all.

Taking advantage of the short silence, Aoko quickly switched to the next conversation and onto the more  _important_ things now. "Anyway, I've got a rough idea for the next book idea. But I'll need your help."

"Of course. What do you want to work on?" He asked and reached out for his bag to get his notebook (That was one thing Aoko liked Ozawa the best. With just a quick snap of a finger, his professionalism dutifully came with no other question). "Serial Killing? Although you had that plot for your first book, there's many other approaches you can consider."

She shook her head, though she showed her smile to express her gratitude to his zeal. "I'm considering taking from another angle."

He paused. "Another angle?"

"I want to start with creating the characters first rather than the plot's setting."

"Oh? Sure. We can take it from there." Ozawa nodded encouragingly, but stopped when a thought struck him. "But I'm curious; is there a reason behind the change?"

Aoko shrugged, waving a hand weakly in the air. "I want to try something new."

_"There's always a why for everything. It's a choice you made, unconscious or not."_

Widening her eyes, the spoon slipped off Aoko's hand and clang loudly onto her dining table as she spun her head towards the balcony. It looked the same as how it always was, saved for the curtains as it flapped along with the gentle wind that passed; like it was the nature's response to her that the thing she was finding wasn't there.

Of course it wouldn't be there.

"Hey?" Ozawa asked, head tilting in concern. "What's wrong?"

Aoko turned back to the dining table and picked her spoon up. "Nothing." She managed a nervous smile. This was getting absurd. She had been hearing Kaito's words echoing in her head for the entire day even when he wasn't with her!

Ozawa wasn't convinced and tried to pry for an answer again, but Aoko refused to budge. It wasn't an answer she understood herself after all, and she wasn't prepared for what Ozawa might tell her. She had enough on hand to last her a few sleepless nights already.

She quickly moved on and back to their original topic, which Ozawa followed, thankfully. After an hour of discussion over dinner, they spent another hour discussing on the couch, talking about the potential of starting with characters and their development, as well as how it would affect the female lead character of her previous two books.

But when the next hour came, Aoko sent Ozawa packing and out of her door. Beside her sudden urge to write, she didn't want Ozawa to stay too long when he still had work tomorrow.

"Promise me you'll call soon." He cast her a pointed look as he wore his shoes. "Don't leave me hanging for another three months. The publisher is gonna hoard all over me."

"I know." Aoko said and rubbed her neck sheepishly. "I'll try to get at least the first draft done. Soon."

"I'll take that as a promise."

She closed the door, the echoes of Ozawa's footsteps fading to a none.

_Alright time to work._

Cracking her knuckles, she passed by her kitchen and suddenly remembered about her unwashed dishes. If she were to start writing now, she had no idea how long she would leave her dishes there, which could risk her precious white plates to be permanently stained with the faint colour of curry (It happened before). Willing herself, she tied her hair and decided to start with the biggest one to clean—the pot— when she realized there were still plenty of leftover in it. She could reheat some for tomorrow, but there would still be plenty left...

An image of a grinning Kaito suddenly popped into her mind.

Again.

She cringed at her thought, the lid nearly slipping from her grasp. He might be good candidate to clear her food, but really? What if he took it the wrong way? What if it fuelled his egoistic brain and made him think she was interested in him?

But since when did he not take every single thing she did as an opportunity to tease her? This extra _thing_  wasn't going to change anything. Besides… she wondered when was the last time he had a meal that didn't come from packed bentos or pre-made meals she saw him buy every time (Unless what she thought about him eating dinner with all the girls in the neighbour was true... that would be another story).

Knowing that the more she contemplates, the more she hesitates, she decisively scooped some of her rice and curry into a bowl, grabbed a spoon and set them on a cute tray she bought from a sale (She had never used it before, but now was the chance for it), and headed for the door.

Though she wasn't sure what time he'd come back, there was no way in hell she would stand there and wait for him till he did. So after leaving the tray outside his door, she returned to her apartment and started on her dish-washing.

_No regrets. No regrets._

When next morning came, the first thing Aoko did wasn't going to the balcony to enjoy the serene view (unbelievably this was the first time she broke her _everyday_  routine). Instead, she headed to her door to check the thing that had jolted her up from her sleep.

Her tray outside his door was gone.

And she realized so was Kaito.

It was exactly one of those weeks when he would disappear and return a couple of days later. He didn't exactly announce or tell it directly to her. It was a subtle indication, but enough for her to take the hint of his prolonged absences; his balcony door was locked and his curtains were drawn closed. She  _should_  be happy about it, because during those days of silence, it was a good opportunity to focus all her energy on her work instead of dealing with her emotions whenever she was around him.

But for some reason, it was a little harder to convince herself that this time round.

She found Kaito back four days later, waving on his balcony under the light of the setting sun with a lollipop in his mouth.  _"Did you miss me?"_ , he asked, which she responded with a roll of her eyes and spat out a  _"No"_ for emphasis before they fell back to their squabbles and mocking teases. Like usual, he didn't tell her where he went and she didn't question him either. Same for her bowl of curry and his meeting with Ozawa.

Everything was forgotten and cast away—never brought up again.

Perhaps, Aoko decided, it was better to live in the moment than trying to figure out the things she wasn't sure if she wanted to know about.

 

* * *

 

Jii would occasionally come to check on the tenants or to collect the rent payments, and whenever he did, he would drop by Kaito's apartment and spent an hour or two before leaving. And that said, besides the friendly old man, Aoko had never seen anyone visit Kaito before.

She remembered Jii mentioning about the master, possibly Kaito's father, that he used to serve. Was Jii helping Kaito because of old, loyal feelings? Or did Kaito become estranged from his family and Jii took pity? What about siblings? If Kaito had any, Aoko could perfectly picture him being the oldest and pranking the rest of his younger ones.

Again, all she had were questions but never answers.

Families aside, She wondered what type of friends would Kaito have. Would they be as infuriating and frustrating as him? Aoko couldn't think of anyone that could top off Kaito or be in the same league as him, but she could think of  _plenty_  of people who weren't, let's say for example  _Kudo Shinichi_.

That was why when Aoko saw  _him_  standing and conversing outside Kaito's door, she thought she'd seen a ghost. Or Shinichi's twin. Or Kaito's twin (Now that she noticed, the two men looked quite alike. Only the style of their hair made a slight difference, along with Kaito's signature bored-looking eyes and Shinichi calm ones). She could think of a hundred possibilities, as long as she didn't guess that person was Kudo Shinichi himself.

"I said I don't want to talk." Kaito glowered, his crossed arms tightening against his chest. Aoko had never seen Kaito legitimately angry, pissed, or anything more than two furrowed brows, but his entire face now was now a huge scowl.

Wanting to buy a midnight snack when the landlord was trying to break into his own apartment? Accidentally stumbling upon a seemingly intense and important discussion? Trust Aoko to always have the worst kind of timing-

"Nakamori-san?" Shinichi gaped, finally turning after he noticed Aoko standing by her half opened door.

Now she confirmed he was the Kudo Shinichi she knew; She recognized his voice through all the interviews he had conducted with him.

"Kudo-kun." Aoko managed a smile and pretended to be just stepping out of her apartment as she closed her door. What else could she do than acting like she totally didn't eavesdrop their conversation?

She wasn't sure if Shinichi bought the act. Kaito, on the other hand, didn't look entirely surprised, just… three steps down the level of his previous anger.

"I didn't know you live here." Shinichi asked.

"And I certainly didn't know you're friends with…  _him_." Aoko added.

"Excuse  _me_. We're not friends." Kaito popped his head further out of his door. "And that tone of yours is uncalled for."

Aoko trudged closer to them as she rolled her eyes. "I'm glad you understand my underlying meaning."

Shinichi smiled. "It's been a while."

She nodded. "Yeah. Nice to see you again."

"If you need any more help with your research, you know where to find me."

Aoko knew Shinichi way before she realized his father's publishing firm was affiliated with the company Ozawa worked in. The  _Detective of the East_  had always been her idol since her high-school days, and the cases he solved and interviews that Ozawa arranged helped a lot to bridge her knowledge and inspiration together for her books. To put it in another way, she might say she owed Shinichi a debt.

But even outside of work, there were many other things she respected him for too, like how he was a loving husband and a kind man that never forsake anyone, even criminals, of their lives. And right now, she'd gotten another thing to add onto the list of reasons why she admired him; Even though she didn't know how and why, Shinichi had managed to annoy Kaito to a level that Aoko had never reached before.

Kaito coughed loudly, silencing Aoko before she could express her gratitude. "Seeing how you  _two_ have so much to talk about, I'll give you all the space you need." He said before closing the door.

But Shinichi was quicker. He slapped a hand against the door, forcing it to remain open. "We're not done talking." He hissed.

"Pity, because I'm done with it."

"I'm sorry, Nakamori-san. I'll chat with you another time? I have some errands I need to run." Shinichi cast Kaito a pointed look, which the latter wasn't happy about as he clicked his tongue.

"If you need some help, I can let you use my balcony." Aoko grinned.

Kaito scowled. "Betrayer."

 _Mature. Mature._   _No sticking out of tongue._ She inwardly reminded herself before giving a firm smile. "Betrayal only comes from friends. Which we aren't."

"What I meant was infidelity, and it only comes from lovers. Which, I would say, we are." Kaito feigned a hurt look as he pointed accusingly between her and Shinichi. "My darling Ahouko! I'm so disappointed in you."

"Who's your lover?!" Aoko glowered.

"It's you, _Ahouko_."

They acted like Shinichi didn't exist, but the detective still made his presence loud and clear by clearing his throat, intercepting the millisecond before Aoko burst a blood vessel.

"I have something important to tell you." He said solemnly to Kaito.

"I don't care."

"Then if you don't care, I assume you wouldn't mind me saying it here right now?"

Something flickered in Kaito's eyes before he looked at Aoko sideways. Shinichi's words were definitely a hidden threat; A threat to the privacy that Kaito had been keeping from her all these while (And the way he turned his face away from her afterwards made her feel like a fish out of water… Not that it should bother her anyway).

Letting out a sigh, Kaito stepped aside—much to both of their surprise—to let Shinichi enter.

"I'm only sparing you fifteen minutes." Kaito muttered.

(She wondered if it was her fault that he'd given in to Shinichi).

"All I need is ten." Shinichi assured before disappearing into the shadowy apartment, but Kaito didn't follow him. He continued standing by the door, and for a moment Aoko thought he was going to escape by running out-

"Then I'll take the three out of the five minutes you don't need." Kaito shouted across his shoulder. "Don't touch anything or I'll burn your library down."

A grunt was heard from inside.

Turning back, Kaito leaned against the door frame and gave Aoko a once over; from her tied up hair, light blue sleeveless dress and white flats. "You're all dolled up today." He commented.

So… He'd  _made_  Shinichi, one of the most busiest and famous detectives in Japan,  _wait_  inside his apartment  _because_ he wanted to talk to her about  _this_?

"What's your point?" She sneered.

"I supposed you're not going to the nearby supermarket to impress the vegetables and fruits, right?" He stared at her for a long while. "Going on a date?"

"For work." She said, her fingers twitched as she tugged onto the straps of her sling bag, feeling her heavy computer weighing her shoulder down. Telling him the truth was easier than cooking up a lie.

A look of realisation dawned upon him, and he smiled, one that looked different from the ones she usually saw—a mix of genuine gratefulness and contentment. It was weirdly pleasing that, by any chance, she was the one responsible in making his lips curl up this way on his face.

"You've managed your writer's block?" He asked.

"…More or less." She sputtered, and that was the end of what her throat allowed her to say. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her to bring up how he was the one that helped her with it, but she couldn't force any more words out.

"How's the progress?"

"Done some drafts." She said, keeping her replies light and breeze. 

His face lit up like a hungry boy entering a room filled with food. "Does that mean I still have a chance to inspire you and get myself a part of your book?"

Aoko rolled her eyes, this time refusing to answer his question. "What is it do you exactly want to tell me?" She gestured her head inside his apartment. "Your three minutes is up, you know."

"Nothing much." His brightened face fell lax as he shrugged. "Just want to say that you look nice, and blue really suits you. That's all."

Without waiting for Aoko to reply, he closed the door, leaving her standing on the corridor and wondering what she should do with the sincerity she found in his voice.

 

* * *

 

Aoko's meeting with Ozawa and her publisher was somewhat eventful, mostly because they were too busy reading her draft and discussing among each other to notice her distracted self. She spent the entire afternoon nodding her head and clarifying their doubts whenever they needed her to, and for the rest of the time when she wasn't needed, she used it to think about what happened earlier this late morning.

And mostly Kaito.

_Kaito?_

It wasn't thinking, per se, it was more like momentary and random images of him flashing across her eyes; his scowl, grin and then back to what he said to Shinichi, and then back to what Shinichi said to him, and the way he talked about her dress like she was born to wear it, and then the way he shrugged and closed the door like he couldn't care. Everything was jumbled up (like how she felt about her life after knowing him), but that didn't mean she found it any less pathetic and creepy about it.

Decisively in her head, she thought she should get some life outside instead of cooping at home (since technically it also equated to having to see him and allowing him to infect her brain). Maybe a visit to a cafe and catch up on her readings? Call Keiko up for dinner? Watch a movie-?

"...Aoko?"

Blinking out of her trance, she straightened. "Yes, sorry? Did you say something?" She asked sheepishly.

Ozawa sent her a knowing look (The meeting had been going on for a couple of hours after all). "I was asking if you intend to develop Reo as a romantic interest for Akira."

_"It really puzzles me why you didn't write romance instead."_

Thank god she managed to hide the scowl from appearing or it could've caused some serious misunderstanding. And what's worst was when she wouldn't be able to explain without getting herself in further embarrassment. Swallowing hard, Aoko mustered an intent look, like she was seriously reflecting about what Ozawa said and not some  _other guy's_ words that echoed in her mind.

"Romantic interest?" She tried to clarify.

Ozawa gestured to the computer screen. "Creating the characters first might be your talent and it's good you realized it yourself and tapped into your strength."

Of course she wasn't going to correct Ozawa, but besides that point. "How does it relate to that?"

"Reo is an interesting character." Ozawa said, and the publisher nodded beside him. "Their relationship has good potential. Being on both sides of justice, we can delve into the grey area of the law and explore Akira's development too."

"I... haven't thought that far yet."

Ozawa and the publisher glanced at each other, both sharing a surprised look before returning their gazes to Aoko. "Although it's just the first draft, it seems almost explicit that it's your intention."

"No it's not." Aoko blurted.

She was relieved Ozawa said nothing about her little outburst. "Alright then; It's just a thought anyway. But so far so good. Con-artist is a refreshing idea too. I'll do more research on my side too if you need help."

The instant the meeting was over, Aoko went straight home and changed out into her normal clothes. After hearing what Ozawa said, she thought there were more work to be done, and her plan for a dinner date with her friends was all thrown out to the window. Tomorrow night seemed like a better idea for a meet-up, and she texted her friends about her idea, conversing a little and taking her mind of _certain things_ before focusing on her work again.

But same like how rules were made to be broken, plans were created to have it ruined—she'd gotten another distraction, but this one wasn't something she knew how to get rid of.

_Drip._

_Drip._

_Drip._

Aoko sighed, staring at the leaking kitchen tap as it continued its annoying brand of melody.

It wasn't a matter of how far Aoko was or how she tried to distract her ears. Knowing that her kitchen tap was leaking amplified her sense of awareness, creating echoes of this illusionary tap-dripping sound even if her ears weren't exactly hearing it. The only way to get her subconscious mind to shut up was to fix the tap, and she had failed miserably on this part, much to her despair.

Hands on her hips after a resigned sigh, Aoko glanced towards her balcony.

As the saying goes, desperation leads to desperate measures.

 _No harm trying my luck._ She thought wryly before heading to the balcony to find… nothing. It was good that she wasn't anticipating that much for Kaito. Because when she found his balcony empty, the pang of disappointment didn't hit her as hard. She was already frustrated with her situation. There was no need to wreck herself even more.

She glanced away from the empty space and returned to her kitchen, forcing herself to delete any images of Kaito out of her mind. She wouldn't want it to become an unhealthy habit of hers-

_'Click, click.'_

Aoko straightened in alert, blocking off everything around her and focused on the new sound—something familiar and much,  _much_ better to hear. And once she confirmed her guess; the twisting of key and Kaito's usual attempts to unlock his jammed door knob (She didn't understand why he wouldn't just call a locksmith to help him with it), her lips unconsciously curled.

"So he's out and just returning?" Aoko wondered aloud as she skipped towards the door.

Flinging the door open, she popped her head out with a humble smile. "Hi, my dear landlord." She belatedly exclaimed, before her smile died like the chirpy voice that left her throat.

It would have been embarrassing if the person she thought was Kaito wasn't him. But at least she was right, which was a huge relief. It  _was_  Kaito standing in the corridor and outside his door, but for a brief moment Aoko thought it was another person.

He… didn't look like the usual him.

With his hand around the knob, Kaito looked up, his eyes wide and a little distracted at the same time. But once Aoko blinked, those moments were all gone, and the usual face of the flirty and smug-ass Kaito was back.

"Hello, my dearest and lovely tenant."

Aoko stared him for a second. Or maybe two. Ok. Definitely five. She faked a cough, trying to regain her composure and pointed at him. "What's with the clothes? I almost couldn't recognise you." She admitted.

"Too handsome?" He asked, tone extremely curious.

She pursed her lips, glancing at his tight-fitting white dress shirt that matched with a black tie and navy dress pants. "No. Just formal."

"If I take my shirt off, would that impress you?"

"No." She spat, and was glad she sounded as assertive as she hoped for. "And I'll sue you for sexual harassment."

With a small and satisfied smile etched on his lips, he slowly made her way towards her door. At a closer distance, she noticed some parts of his hair was gelled back, but perhaps being outside for too long had lessened the effect and it was now close to the usual messiness (not that she was complaining for either style). She lowered her gaze when she spotted something in Kaito's hand, which she didn't notice since his side was blocking it previously.

It was a bouquet of flowers—a combination of yellow and white daisies, tulips and sunflowers—wrapped in peach-coloured wrapping papers.

"What are the flowers for?" She blurted before she could cook up guesses in her head.

He looked at it without a flicker of emotion. "A friend."

"A friend." She echoed, expecting him to elaborate on it and make his usual joke, like saying  _'Jealous these aren't for you?',_ or pretentiously offering the flowers to her because he could be so infuriating like that. But there was absolutely nothing, and she took the rare silence and his oddly calm composure as a hint that he didn't want to talk about anything related to that _friend_  or the flowers he failed to gift.

Aoko cleared her throat to restart the conversation again. "Anyway, I need your help." She jabbed a thumb into her apartment. "My kitchen tap is leaking."

"No wonder you sounded extraordinary happy when you opened the door." Kaito tilted his head. "I thought you missed me even though we're only apart for less than a day."

She faked a short laugh. "If you're busy, I'll call someone in tomorrow."

"As your dutiful landlord," he began kicking off his shoes. "Let me see what I can do."

The only thing reliable about him was his consistent teases that never failed to rile her up every time, but at the exact moment when Kaito said what he said, she felt at ease, like she could trust him with her life. She frowned at her thought while moving aside to let him in.

It must be his clothes. Clothes is a key for good impression after all, and his current attire was definitely ruining the months of judgement she had of him.

He placed the bouquet on the dining table and glanced inside the kitchen. "Do you have a tool box?" He asked while observing her leaking tap from afar.

Aoko hesitated. Crap, she should have told him earlier about that. "No." She muttered sheepishly.

Without any unnecessary remark like he would usually give, Kaito simply nodded. "Okay, I'll go get mine." He trudged out of the door, leaving her alone in her apartment along with the dripping sound for company.

In all honesty, Aoko was glad for his temporary departure. She needed it terribly, to clear her head and stop her mind from racing with thoughts she couldn't understand. Wasn't it just a dress shirt and pants? What was the big deal? It wasn't as if she lived in a cave. She'd seen men wearing suits and other formal wears before.

 _Chill out before he starts asking when he noticed something is amiss._ Aoko chided in her head.

A few minutes later, Kaito returned with a toolbox, and Aoko noticed something had changed about his attire; He'd taken his tie off and had his second button of his shirt unbuttoned, adding that he also had both of his sleeves rolled up to his elbows too. The loose sweaters and t-shirts he always wore couldn't bring out the shape of his arms, but now it definitely did (Trust him to whip out a whole new look with only a few adjustments).

Today, Aoko decided, was a day of disastrous distractions.

Letting out a few coughs, she focused on the tap as he set the toolbox next to the sink and began rummaging through the tools. He continued doing it for the next eighteen seconds (she was counting to distract herself from his arms), until Aoko couldn't bear to watch his fruitless search anymore.

"What are you looking for?"

"Hmm, the wrench."

"Huh? It's here." She said, easily fishing out the wrench he was searching for.

"Oh." He took the wrench from her hand and turned to the sink, seemingly unwilling to look into her eyes. "Thanks."

Maybe she wasn't the only one experiencing a disastrous distraction day today. She scrutinized Kaito's back as he fiddled with the tap.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah." He answered in a heartbeat.

Had Aoko not know his pattern of speech, she might have missed out the subtle difference in him again. His usual reply would be  _'Aww? Are you worried for me?'_  and not straight out giving her an answer, especially when it had to do with his well-being.

Was it the failed date's fault? Or could it be related to Shinichi's sudden morning visit? Like always, she only had questions with no answers, but she kept them to herself, at least for now. She would rather he focus on getting the annoying dripping sound out of the way first.

A minute of tweaking later, he dropped the wrench back into the toolbox and turned on the tap before closing it again. The leaking had stopped.

He smiled, satisfied. "Done."

She stared, wide-eye and unblinking at her fixed tap. "…That was unexpected."

"Is that what you're supposed to say?"

"Um-" Aoko blushed, her hands fumbled to help close his tool box. "Thanks a lot for fixing my tap."

Kaito chortled. "I'm not talking about that." He dusted his hands and continued looking at her expectantly. "Aren't you going to ask if I'm a plumber?"

_Oh._

Well, if Aoko had to guess, she would choose between a full-time fitness trainer or an international runway model. But compared to the answer he offered, either choice was too much of a compliment.  _Way_ too much than what she was willing to offer him.

" _So_ ," she cleared her throat. "Are you a plumber?"

"No, but if this job can get women to invite me into their house, it sounds like a good career prospect to me."

Aoko had a feeling he made her ask, just so he could resume his temperament and do his usual teases. And she, too, resumed her usual nonchalance towards his smug-flirts. "Not scared you'll end up getting murdered by a serial killer?"

"That's interesting. Is that what your new book is going to be about? Are you gonna write about me? A hottie plumber that gets killed by a serial-killer?"

"Keep asking and I might consider writing your painful death."

"Death is ugly, but I've plenty of synonyms for you to describe me when I'm alive: Charming, alluring, sexy— Just stick to the facts. Should be easy for you."

"I can't write what I can't imagine."

He crossed his arms, his shirt pulled tight over his shoulders and moulding into the shape of his muscles. "Maybe because you're not looking close enough?"

Her eyes flickered to his arms, but she quickly turned away before Kaito managed to notice. "There's nothing to look at." She said, even though she knew better.

"Why don't you try looking again?"

Sighing irritably, Aoko glanced up and was about to argue, but the words didn't come when she met his eyes. And it was the most ironic thing, because despite that, their significant look exchanged more words than they would ever say aloud.

She pursed her lips, trying to regain her composure from the intensity of his gaze, but it only made it harder for her to think or concentrate on anything else—

—Like the way he could distort time and make a minute magically feel like a few seconds… The way he slowly leaned towards her like a boat rowing towards the safe shore… The way he parted his lips and sucked the breath that was meant for her to breathe…

Then something in Aoko snapped, bringing her sense of awareness back when she smelt his faint cologne  _and_ a familiar scent she always found on her father whenever he came back from a celebratory party after a case was solved.

Aoko frowned and twitched her nose as she jabbed a finger into his chest, stopping him from doing all the things she didn't notice him doing before.

"Are you drunk?" She managed to ask without a croaky voice. It was a relief her vocal cords hadn't been fried along with her brain cells.

Kaito straightened, his expression suddenly unreadable. He started tugging his collar and trudged away, leaving her alone in the kitchen. "I drank, but I'm not drunk. It's two different things."

She watched him walked towards the living room and sat on one side of her sofa, unusually relaxed and at ease. Now that she knew he drank, it explained all the differences she noticed in him, but she wondered if it was _just_ the fault of alcohol that ruined his facade and made him show his moody side much prominently than ever.

"I'm thirsty." He spoke aloud, snapping her out from her little thought. "Do you have anything to drink?"

"Make yourself at home." Aoko deadpanned. "I don't have beer if that's what you want. But I have orange juice."

"Orange juice, hmmm. Healthy. I'll take the offer."

Taking the can of juice from the fridge, she sat next to him on the couch—with some gap in between—and handed him the drink. He cracked it open without a word and began chugging it down.

"That's not beer, you know."

He paused in between his mouthfuls. "I know."

"Are you alright?" She asked him again.

"I'm not drunk."

"That's not what I mean." Aoko licked her lips, preparing herself for the question. "Why… did you drink?"

"Why not?"

 _If he doesn't want to talk about his 'friend'…_  "Is it related to the reason Kudo-kun visited you this morning?"

His jaws were clenched together so tightly she feared for his teeth. "No."

He was always careful to cover his emotions with jokes or teases, but this was the first time she could see through his lie so easily. She should be feeling satisfied for being able to push his buttons like how he always pushed hers, but seeing him like  _this_ , the only thing she felt was concern.

 _Concern?_ Aoko squirmed in her seat. Should she be feeling this for a neighbour she barely knew besides how he was a heir of a master Jii used to serve and liked her cupcake? What about her curry? Did he like her curry?

Her thoughts were getting nowhere.

She stared at him sideway as he squeezed the empty can to the shape of an apple core. Well… at least she knew one more thing about him; Maybe he liked orange juice.

"Do you want another?"

He contemplated for a second. "Yeah."

She went to the fridge, grabbing the drink and sat back on the couch. She would have warned him about choking himself when he began chugging down the juice again, but she was too distracted by the movement of his arms.

 _Okay, enough._  She shook her head, hoping to dispel those  _cursed_  thoughts.

It still didn't work as well as she thought it should.

Noticing her discomfort, Kaito flashed her a curious look. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." She cleared her throat.  _I need a new distraction!_ "Anyway, how do you know Kudo-kun?" She blurted thoughtlessly.

The flicker of worry he previously had for her disappeared as he glanced away. "Why? Are you interested in him?"

Aoko shot him a glare. "It's irrelevant to the question I asked. And he has a wife, for goodness sake."

He shrugged. "Some women find married men attractive."

"Not for me. And don't change the subject. You haven't answered my question."

"Hmm…" He took a long, slow sip. "We're acquaintance."

"But he's a detective."

Kaito stared at her, curious. "So?"

"You've given me the impression that you don't like detectives."

"Ah…" He shrugged. "I'm fine if they don't bother me. But that Holmes's freak did. So yeah. Maybe you're right."

Like always, his replies gave her no answer to the question she wanted to know.

"I should go." He suddenly said.

Before Aoko could register his words, he stood up and walked to the door. She hastily followed behind him, still a little surprised but kept silent on his decision to leave. She expected him to stay a little bit longer, but she guessed his weariness  _or_  reluctance to hear any more of her Shinichi-related questions won him over. Either way, she thought it was good he decided to leave. She knew what he needed was sleep rather than practising his flirting skills on her.

"Thank you for fixing my tap." Aoko said as he wore his shoes.

"Then I'll thank you for the juice. It's nice." He leaned sideways against the doorframe and held up the can. "Do you buy it often?"

"It's available at the supermarket."

Kaito chuckled. "Why do you sound so defensive?"

"Because I have a feeling you'll use the juice as an excuse to come by."

He put a hand theatrically on his chest. "I don't understand what you mean."

"You know full well what I mean. " Aoko scoffed, then realisation hit her eyes. "Hold on. Your tool box." She scurried back to the kitchen, grabbed the box and returned to the door to give it to him.

His eyes flickered to the tool box in his hand and back at her. "You're dead-set on destroying all my chances to come to your apartment again, aren't you."

"Yes. Unless my tap leaks."

He glanced past her shoulder and inside apartment. "If that's the only reason… I'll pray for your tap to leak soon."

"Trust you to say senseless things like that." Aoko rolled her eyes. "Goodnight."

"Wait- No hugs?" Kaito spread out his arms, the tool box dangling on one hand while he held his can of orange juice on another. "How about a goodnight kiss?"

"I'll take it as you're drunk and have no idea what you're saying."

"And if I insist I'm serious and not drunk?"

_"Maybe he's always serious and you're not aware of it."_

Remembering Ozawa's words, Aoko realized he wasn't right or wrong. She could sense Kaito's seriousness if he wanted to show it, but the problem wasn't on him—It was her instinct, like a warning bell that persistently rang to remind her not to let her guard down with him. She could offer him juices or talk to him occasionally on their balconies, but that was as far as she was able to go. Anything more than that would be too dangerous for her… heart. She knew a thousand ways that could make a heart stop, but getting it to beat faster than normal, like this moment, wasn't something she was familiar with.

She chose not to believe him no matter how serious he could ever be.

"Then I'll punch you." Aoko answered, cracking her knuckles and ignoring the uncomfortable swirl in her gut.

"Ouch." Kaito winced, stroking one side of his jaw (which made Aoko realize how defined it was). "I could almost feel it."

"Good. Now go home and sleep."

Kaito grinned. "Goodnight."

Aoko managed to close the door before his droopy eyes and lazy smile starting creating more chaos and weird reactions in her chest.

 _What the hell was that all about?_ She pinched the bridge of her nose and pressed her back against the door. Would smelling a drunk person make someone equally drunk as well? Maybe she should do some research on that later on.

Shaking her head, Aoko headed to the living room, and it was only then she realized Kaito had left the bouquet of flowers on her dining table.


	2. Defined

Half-an-hour of contemplating later, Aoko decided to keep the flowers in a tall vase Keiko gave to her as housewarming gift two years back. She had a feeling even if she returned the bouquet to Kaito, he wasn't going to keep the flowers as proper as she could, and it'd be a waste. Not for her sake but the flowers. Yes. The flowers.

They were too pretty to be dumped away.

And because no one ever gave Aoko flowers before, she spent another half-an-hour circling around her house, trying to figure out where to put the vase before finally making up her mind to put it on her bedside table. She chose the spot since it was the only place that fitted the space, and  _totally_ not because she wanted to be reminded of Kaito once she opened her eyes.

No.  _Hell_  no.

(She realized, much to her slight displeasure, that it was the last thing she saw before she closed her eyes too)

When the next morning came, Aoko went to her balcony for her usual routine; taking in her daily dose of fresh air and scenic-viewing. As much as she tried to stretch her patience and endurance, three minutes was how long she lasted before she gave in to the temptation and sneaked a glance at Kaito's balcony.

Of course he wasn't there. But his curtains were drawn open, and the glass door was slightly opened.

 _Has he woken up?_ Aoko bit her lips. _Does he have a hangover?_

Although it wasn't like she knew Kaito and his drinking patterns, he looked like the type that could hold his liquor well. The type that would be the life of the party. The type that would holler around and swing his hips about with women slung around his arms. But no matter how Aoko tried to imagine, the image didn't appear in her head. Rather, she could perfectly imagine Kaito sitting on one side of a couch, legs propped on the coffee table and sipping orange juice out of a can. His face, like usual, would be beaming like an idiot.

Exactly like what happened yesterday.

Aoko shook her head. If she continued thinking about such senseless things, the one having the hangover would be her.

_Well… Miso soup is good for hangovers._

Right after that thought, her feet found its way towards the kitchen, and her eyes unconsciously drifted past her kitchen tap as she approached her fridge.

"Since he fixed my tap, should I make some for him?" Aoko crossed her arms, not realising she had said her thoughts aloud. She then shook her head again as she continued to reply herself. "What if he says stupid things again? Like me being in love with him since this is the second time I made him-"

Oh,  _right._  He didn't even mention about her curry before.

But not this time about the miso soup if she really made it for him. If he was at home, he would definitely make a comment when she delivered the soup into his face. The thought suddenly intrigued her, and she wondered if she was ready to see his reaction-

Wait, _no_. That wasn't her intention, damn it! This was solely just a repayment, since he bothered to help her despite not being in his best condition.

"Out of gratitude. Just out of gratitude." Aoko chanted a few more times, as if that could better convince herself.

That settled, Aoko began rolling up her sleeves. Having cooked miso soup so many times, she easily had the ingredients and recipe figured out in her head. But after flipping through her fridge and cabinets, she realized she lacked the most important thing out of all: Seaweed. It was a perfect timing anyway—She needed to replenish some of her groceries, and maybe she could buy more orange juice too.

Quickly changing into something proper for going out, Aoko downed a piece of bread to curb her hunger temporarily and skipped out. She passed by Kaito's door, ignoring the odd warmth that spread behind her neck and climbed down the stairs, her feet turned automated as she walked towards the direction of the supermarket.

She grabbed a basket once she reached and moved her way past the familiar aisle, dumping her items inside her basket when she saw any of her interest. And right when she was about to make a turn towards the section where the seaweeds were located, she heard a voice behind her.

"Hey."

There were so many other customers in the supermarket, but Aoko knew, almost instantly, that the voice was calling out for her.

Aoko whirled around.

"What a coincidence." Kaito said as he approached, his voice hinting the sign of a smile before he grinned. "Are you stalking me? Missed me that much?"

She thought of him, but definitely not in a  _missing sort of way_ , so no. Totally two different things. Aoko scoffed. "If I knew you were here, I wouldn't have come."

"Your words always hit me right in the heart." Kaito swung his basket to one hand and placed the other over his chest.

There were times she wondered if she ever hurt his feelings, but once she saw how his stupid grin continued to spread across his face, she guessed not. "I don't need that information."

He leaned forward to peer inside her basket. "What are you buying?"

"Nothing for you, that is." Aoko murmured, protectively covering her content. She was on her way to buy the seaweed for the miso soup, but she hadn't got it, so no. Totally nothing for him.

"Well, I have something for you." Kaito rummaged through his basket and picked a carton version of the orange juice she gave him last night.

"I don't need repayment." How ironic when she was  _intending_  to repay him.

"Not exactly a repayment. It's for you  _and_  me. Us." He looked at the orange juice with an admiration that Aoko thought was silly before he put it back into his basket. "Instead of nice beer or sake, I guess orange juice can be  _our_  thing."

The way he said  _our_  sent a slight shiver down Aoko's spine. She licked her lips, preparing for her next verbal attack; that was how their conversations worked every time. "No thanks."

"So you'd prefer beer and sake?"

"None." Tightening her grip around the basket's handle, Aoko forced a smile. "Anyway, I'm done with my purchase. I'm leaving." She still hadn't gotten what she came here for, but seeing how he was back to his usual self, Aoko doubted she needed to make miso soup anymore.

"It must be destined fate because I'm done with mine too." He skipped to her side, following her to the cashier counters (There were no traces of the fatigue or weariness he held in his eyes from yesterday. It was almost as though he'd recharged himself to another person).

They queued for different cashiers (she deliberately joined another one to avoid being in the same line as him), but annoyingly, they reached their turn at the same time, and Kaito made a whistling sound to tell her exactly that. She sent him a withering look before placing her basket onto the counter and turned away from him.

As the female cashier started scanning her items, she gestured her head over to Kaito and gave Aoko a smile.

"Lover's quarrel?"

Aoko nearly choked, her eyes wide and horrified. "What- No. We _aren't_  lovers." She spat. She gave a quick glance over her shoulder, and seeing how Kaito didn't seem to hear them and was focused on his purchases, she let out a soft sigh in relief.

"I often see you two around." The female cashier continued.

"We're only neighbours."  _And nothing more than that._

"Ah, I see." She laughed politely. "That explains why you two seem close."

Having no idea how the female cashier came to such conclusion, Aoko only smiled and decided saying nothing was better than continuing the conversation.

By the time Aoko was done, she found Kaito standing at the exit and… waiting. Determined to shake off the female cashier's curious gaze drilling at the back of her head, Aoko hastily walk past him and out, but the automated door wasn't helping as it stalled for two seconds, giving Kaito ample opportunity to reach her side before they walked out of the supermarket _together_ , again, like all the other days whenever they coincidentally met at the supermarket and left at the same time.

The last thing she needed was solidifying the evidences of anyone's assumptions about her association with Kaito, but it seemed she failed this time round again.

"What are you doing later?" Kaito said, breaking the sound of their footsteps as they made their way back to their apartments.

Aoko glanced at him, askance. "Why the question?"

"No reasons. Just small talks between two neighbours." He said, casually swinging his groceries around his body and switching them between his hands—a game that seemed fun to him but something that Aoko didn't understand. And seeing him like that, he looked almost like a kid. An  _innocent_  kid that just wanted to be happy.

 _Wanted_ seemed like a strange word to use, but that was exactly what Aoko thought.

She wondered if he heard what she said to the cashier.

Softening her slightly narrowed eyes, Aoko looked away from the side of his face. Guilt or whatever, she wasn't sure, but she didn't quite like this sudden uneasiness in the pit of her stomach. Yes, it might be hard to change anything between them when their first few consecutive encounters weren't pleasant, but perhaps… the least she could do, to uphold what she claimed about him and her being  _only_  neighbours, was to talk to him properly like _one_.

"Finish my never-ending work. And then I'm meeting a few friends for dinner." She answered.

"Oh?" Kaito said, nearly gasping.

"For your information, I have friends." Aoko gritted her teeth, guessing what his implications meant.

He scoffed. "I'm more astonished that you decided to give yourself a break."

Aoko wasn't interested in feeding him details about who her friends were, where they were going to have dinner,  _or_ how she was the one who initiated the meet up because she wanted to get away from her apartment so she could stop thinking about  _him_. He must  _not_  know anything in regards to her _break_ , but it'd be interesting, though, to know what he was up to instead.

"What about you?" She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What are you doing later?"

Kaito stopped his little game and turned towards her sharply. She wondered if the few seconds of silence that followed was because of his stunned surprise, or that he wasn't prepared with an answer and was trying to think of one.

"Nothing much." He finally replied.

 _Nothing much?_ He might as well don't bother answering her question at all.

But Kaito didn't give her a chance to pry him for an answer. He moved on and started talking about something silly, something that didn't matter, something that barely scraped the surface of the walls they built around each other. For once, she decided to follow the flow of the conversation, because she had no idea what else to say besides their usual squabbles too.

As usual, Kaito made another random yet annoying comment again, and having no doors to slam or rooms to hide, Aoko increased her pace and stomped away, her bags of groceries slapping heavily against her legs. But her cold front didn't last for long when she reached the traffic light ahead and realized he wasn't following her, which was strange, because she expected him to catch up with her easily, with his lips curled up and eyes twinkling under the afternoon sun.

Unable to withstand the curiosity, Aoko spun around.

Indeed he was gone, like a ghost.

Puzzled rather than concern, Aoko backtracked a little, eyes scanning her surroundings to find where he vanished off to-

By the bush she just passed, Kaito was squatting before it, his head lowered and eyes focused onto something on the ground. His own groceries were placed next to him.

Almost forgetting her past tantrum (like every other incidents), Aoko trudged over to Kaito's side. "What are you doing?" She muttered, but she soon found the answer out herself once she got closer, and she widened her eyes, nearly dropping her bags of groceries. "O-Oh no..."

In front of Kaito's feet laid a battered-looking pigeon on the ground; one of its wing protruding out oddly from its body. It looked like it had a fight, and the match didn't end to its favour.

"This looks bad." Aoko bent down and bit her lips worriedly.

"Yeah." Kaito said before glancing at her with a grin. "And there's lots of stray cats around. Leaving it alone will be  _cat_ astrophic too."

"...Seriously?"

With a sudden swing of his hands, Kaito pulled out a long cloth out of his pocket and covered the pigeon before gently picking it up. Aoko expected it to turn agitated and started whipping its other useful wing around, but it didn't. It stayed still, bundled in the white cloth and resting against Kaito's chest as he slowly stood up.

Aoko followed, and her delight for the successful  _rescue_ was cast aside when a thought struck her. "Do you carry a towel wherever you go? And how did you fit it in your pocket?"

"Ah." He smirked. "Trade secret."

She rolled her eyes, not bothering to play along; She'd rather invest her energy on caring for the pigeon instead. "What are you going to do now?"

"Bring it back and check on its injuries." With the pigeon in one hand, he scooped up his groceries with another and skipped away before Aoko could offer to help. He was fast when he wanted to be, and in no longer than three seconds, she was the one lacking behind with her own bags of groceries when Kaito was the one with more burdens than her. Seeing him so oddly eager to tend to the pigeon's wounds, she wondered if he had some soft spot for birds, or animals in general.

With them jogging back, they reached their apartment less than half the time they usually did. Aoko was still far behind though, frustratingly. She managed to climb up the stairs without a break, but Kaito still beaten her. He was already outside his door, tweaking his same old stupid door knob while the pigeon was still in his other hand.

Trudging towards him—her legs wobbly and slightly aching—she picked up the groceries he left on his floor. "Are you an ath-athlete?"

"A what?" He couldn't catch her words between her breaths.

"An athlete." Aoko repeated after calming herself down. "From track and field? Your stamina is… good." Complimenting him would be adding another pump of air to his already inflated and oversized ego, but it was still the real truth.

His face split into a smile. "Nice try, but no."

Like magic, the door managed to unlock on the cue. He pushed the door open, careful to not move the arm he was carrying the pigeon too much, and took his bags of groceries back from Aoko's hands. "Thanks. Are you coming in?"

Aoko hesitated. She did intend to, but she wasn't sure if she should-

Kaito tilted his head, watching her in amusement when she didn't move or answer. "Enter at your own risk." He said and went in, leaving the door open behind him.

Funny. If he told her that more than a few months ago, she would've rolled her eyes and left because it was a risk she would rather die than taking. But nearly after a minute passed, her feet were still rooted outside his door, contemplating. And what made the situation even more complicated wasn't because she didn't trust him—It was because she did, and that made her hesitant, weird, and totally confuse with herself.

It must be because of her concern over the injured pigeon. Definitely.

Finally making up her mind, she headed back to her own home first, to drop of her groceries on the kitchen counter before walking back into Kaito's apartment. His door was still open and welcoming, and she sheepishly muttered a  _"sorry for intruding"_  as she kicked off her shoes and tentatively trudged inside after closing the door behind her.

It occurred to her then that this was the first time she entered his home, and now that she had the chance, she observed her surrounding like a pet in a new cage. The apartment was bare and minimal; the walls were undecorated and the furniture looked plain. Everything was so sparse Aoko could barely tell the difference if she was in the dining room or living room, though she ultimately guessed she was in the dining room since the round table Aoko found Kaito sitting at … looked like a dining table—with a half-eaten pack of bento and two bottles of empty mineral water on it. His groceries were gone, probably stuffed inside the small fridge in his kitchen.

Kaito glanced up from his half-inspection of the pigeon's wings. "You came." He said, his voice tainted with much surprise for a statement.

"I went home to put away my groceries."

"So you're not scared I'll eat you up?"

Aoko cast him a withering look before he suddenly stood up from the table, and for a moment she thought he was going to do exactly what he said-

"Stay." He instructed the pigeon and walked over to the kitchen. Aoko stared at the pigeon. It stayed like what it was told, and she stupidly wondered if it was because of his command or because it was injured. Logically, it should be the latter, but…

The sound of the water tap running captured her attention as she glanced over the counter and at Kaito's back. Like everything in the house, the kitchen was the same. Besides the small fridge, there wasn't any sign of pans or basic utensils. The see-through cabinets were empty, and she could guarantee it was the same as all the drawers and shelves at the bottom as well.

Kaito shut the tap and shook his wrists over the basin to dry his hands. She didn't intend to get caught  _and_  accused for staring at him, so she quickly turned away from him, until she spotted something she didn't expect when Kaito moved away from the spot he was previously blocking—Her tray and bowl was resting on the racks, while her spoon was sitting lonelily inside the utensil holder.

"Aren't those…?" Aoko pointed at the said items.

He glanced back to see what she was pointing at. "Oh," he paused.

Then there was silence.

_Tell me about the curry. Ask him about the curry. Tell me about the curry. Ask him about the curry-_

The sound of flapping broke the quietness in the air, and their eyes turned back to the pigeon, which was hitting one of its wing against the table. Kaito jogged past her, his shoulder brushing against hers before he settled back on his seat and continued his inspection. The pigeon remained calm almost instantly.

"Its right wing is broken." He said a few seconds later, confirming Aoko's silent question.

Nodding her head, she inched herself closer to Kaito's side. "What can we do?"

"I'll go-"

Before he stood up from his seat, the pigeon flapped its uninjured wing agitatedly again, and his raised butt sat back down obediently to subdue it (which Aoko found it a little amusing). If Aoko were to guess, she'd think the pigeon had grown an attachment towards Kaito.

"Can you help me get the first-aid kit?" Kaito asked, while stroking the back of the pigeon's neck to soothe its nerves. "It's in the room at the end and in one of the drawers. You'll see it beside the bed."

"You know how to heal it?" She asked, and she barely refrained herself from commenting how he had a tool box and first-aid kit but not a mug to hold water.

"I notice you often give me too much credit for things." His lips curled in a manner like he was trying not to laugh—as if she'd said something silly but was too innocent to regard it as stupid. She understood his underlying meaning, and she narrowed her eyes warningly before he continued. "I don't have the right measures to heal it completely. It's just to stop it from further injuring itself."

The explanation was more than enough to increase her haste for the sake of the pigeon. "Okay." She said, and scurried down the narrow hallway and entered the room he instructed her to go, to find as exactly what he said; a bed and a drawer beside it.

Nothing else.

She stepped in, again her curiosity kicking in as she began scrutinising the white walls and ceilings before catching a glimpse of a built-in wardrobe she found next to the door. For a man that often wore the same few jeans and shirts, she thought the wardrobe was kinda  _too_  fancy and big for a small and spare room like this too…

But it wasn't her business. The only thing she should care about was the drawer. The end.

Forcing herself to turn away, she trudged to the drawer and bent down, her side leaning against his bed for support as she began pulling open the drawers. The first was empty, same for the second, until she reached the third and last one, where the first-aid box was kept.

"Gotcha." She whispered to herself and pressed a hand on his bed to help herself up. Her weight caused the bedsheets to shift, and from her side-long glance, she noticed… something.

Something under his pillow.

She peered closer.

It was an edge of a wooden photo frame.

Her hands twitched, her conscious begging her to lift up the pillow. There were a thousand and one questions that sprang across her mind. What could the photo frame hold, for it to be so important enough he placed it  _under_  his pillow? A photo of his lover? _Ex_ -lover? The date that refused his flowers last night? What about an illegitimate child? Or- Or!

Her guesses could go on forever,  _unless_  she got the real answer.

Okay, Aoko knew the basic level of privacy, and how she should adhere to it if she wanted hers to be respected equally the same. But... the curiosity! She was betting whatever in the photograph was related to his failed date.

She lowered her eyes to the pillow and clicked her tongue softly, forming the decision in her head.

_Just a peak. A tiny one, that's all._

Despite the echoes of warnings ringing in her head, she shoved the first-aid kit under one arm and slowly picked up the pillow, revealing the photo frame (Her heart was beating so fast she could hear it).

The frame was made out of carved wood, and its sides were stained with something Aoko wasn't sure of. The photo looked old, and some of its colours were tainted with a pale yellow tint…

It was a family of three.

The photo was taken in front of a house. There was an elegant-looking lady with dark purple hair, a charming tall man with a thin moustache and a little boy standing in front of the couple. And out of everything in the photo, the boy's bright blue eyes caught her attention the most. It was the essence of a picture-perfect moment; his eyes were shining so bright like he could never be ever happier than that moment.

She slowly picked up the photo frame to get a closer look (And even though she already knew, she still couldn't refrain the small gasp from escaping her lips).

It was Kaito in the photo.

"Hey," Kaito called from outside. "Can you find it?"

"Just did!" She yelled back, scrambling to put the photo back on the bed and dumping the pillow over it. Thank God she didn't stutter (Didn't need to add on suspicion to her snooping crime). She hugged the first-aid kit, taking a deep breath to regain her composure and walked out of the room, pretending like she totally didn't do whatever she just did.

"Here." She passed the box to him, her hand was slightly trembling from her acts.

Luckily, though, he didn't seem to notice it as he took the kit. "Thanks."

Aoko mustered a smile back and added another brick to her wall of guilt.

She silently watched him pulled out bandages and wrapped it around the pigeon's wing, his hands stealth and agile like he'd done it all before. She had so many question in her head, ones that varied between her new guesses about his jobs and the photograph she just saw, though it wasn't like she could ask anything about the latter. Besides, the last thing she wanted was to distract him, so she continued standing there like a statue, with times when she held her breath when the pigeon didn't react kindly to Kaito's act too.

After almost an eternity, Kaito was done. "This should do it." He said as he began packing the first aid kit. The pigeon had calmed down a lot; its beady eyes looking a little relaxed, compared to how it was bulging out so intently previously.

Now Aoko couldn't resist her urge to list all the guesses she had in her mind. "Are you a vet?"

He chuckled. "Still guessing?"

"Yes."

"You know you don't have to lie about being interested in me."

She almost choked. "I'm  _only_  curious."

"And very determined _too_ , right?" He drawled.

"Right." Aoko continued quickly, hoping to calm down her accidental flustered self. He was reliably and casually a flirt, but every now and then he still managed to shock her with his blatant ways (She thought maybe she could accept him someday, but today was not that day). "So are you some bird-keeper then? Bird expert?"

Kaito laughed again. "Nope."

"A wildlife biologist." Aoko crossed her arms when he shook his head. "Petshop owner?"

"Nuh-uh."

Aoko huffed. "No extra hints?"

"If I give any, it'd be too obvious."

She highly doubt so. Though some were guessed for the jokes, the serious ones she tried were based on what she'd seen of him, yet they were still wrong. Had she overlooked something? Did she miss out the big picture?

Kaito bit his lips, his face contorted as he tried to hold back his laughter.

Aoko scowled once she noted his expressions. "What's so funny?"

"Your thinking face." He blurted. "Don't think too much or tonight you'll be dreaming of me, unless that's what you want."

Besides minimal contact and avoidance, ignoring was another good strategy to win,  _and_ a way to keep her blood vessel from bursting. " _So_ ," Aoko plastered a thin smile. "How long are you going to take care of the pigeon?"

"Not sure. I'll see how it goes tonight." He shrugged before casting her a side-long glance. "While you'll go  _enjoy_ your dinner with your friends."

Aoko frowned. "What's with that tone?" He sounded almost accusing, which was ironic when he was still commenting about how she finally gave herself a break previously.

Turning away from her, Kaito gently stroked the pigeon's head while making some kind of cooing sound. "It's okay. At least Papa is staying as your company."

"...What the hell are you talking about."

"Converting pigeon's lifespan to humans, technically you're missing out five nights with our son."

" _Our_  son-? And how do you know it's a boy?" Aoko sneered. "It could be a girl."

"Facts checked, it's a male."

Aoko sighed. "Male or female, seeing how it's fine now, I'm leaving." She'd be late for her appointment if she didn't start doing what she'd planned for the day. Aoko turned and approached the front door, but stopped at the last moment to spare a last glance at the pigeon, which was still sitting obediently on the table, much to her slight amusement (Really, either Kaito lied to her about her guesses or he really had an affinity with birds). "Maybe... I'll come back to see it again." She mumbled absently.

It was like rattling a dog's lead when it had given up being taken for a walk. Kaito straightened, eyes gleamed. "A visit?"

Her toes fidgeted as she turned away from his excited-looking face. "To see if it's better, that's all."

"Okay." Kaito cooed at the bird again. "Say bye bye to mama."

Aoko shut the door behind her, cutting off every bit of his ridiculous presences from her sight. But even at her hardest, traces of Kaito's bright smile and the memory of the lonely photograph still remained, lingering timelessly and lost in the back of her mind.

* * *

  
Her long awaited dinner with her friends that night was supposed to be fun and casual. Alright, maybe she shouldn't say  _supposed_. It  _was_  fun and casual, but she partially ruined it herself by thinking of things she thought she wouldn't think about after getting out of her apartment, which was ironic because it was  _exactly_  the reason why she called her friends, to get the distraction she needed.

It was ridiculous. Everything was ridiculous. Even something like seeing a man running towards the restaurant's bathroom reminded her of Kaito, just because of that one time he had to use her bathroom when he couldn't get inside his apartment-

"Aoko, are you okay?" Emi asked across their dinner table, her brows furrowed in concern as she followed Aoko's gaze towards the bathroom. "Do you need to go to the restroom?"

(Maybe it didn't matter where she was because it was too late. He had already infected her brain long before she realized he did).

"Huh? No, no. I'm fine." Aoko spun her head back to the table and perked up a smile. Emi was one of the nicest and over-protective friend she had; it was no wonder she'd be the first to notice Aoko's distracted self.

"You had a meeting with Ozawa yesterday, right?" Keiko asked, picking up her glass of water to drink.

"Yeah." Aoko answered half-heartedly. It was indeed yesterday, but after all those things that happened, it felt like it happened ages ago.

Sayaka patted a hand on Aoko's shoulder. "Is everything fine?"

If the question was asked a few months back, Aoko would've said no. But now… "Of course." She confirmed assuringly and patted Sayaka's hand back teasingly. Really, it was all fine. She now had her motivation back to write, and ever since Kaito-

Oh gosh, not about Kaito again.

"Then why do you seem so distracted today?" Emi asked, tilting her head.

_Darn it._

"I know the answer." Keiko raised her hand before anyone said a word. "Maybe it got to do with the new male neighbour Aoko got."

Sayaka gasped, retracting her hand to cover her gaping mouth. "Aoko! Why didn't you tell us about your new boyfriend?"

"Wha- No! Keiko said  _neighbour_ , not boyfriend!" Aoko exclaimed. "And he's completely nothing to me."

"But you got to mean something to him, at least." Keiko winked and continued when her other friends gave her a quizzical look, a silent request to elaborate. "He was jealous of Ozawa for visiting Aoko a few weeks back."

Aoko pinched the bridge of her nose (while her friends started making some weird, teasing sounds in the background). "How much did Ozawa tell you?"

"Not much." Keiko smirked (After so many years of friendship, Aoko could tell it wasn't a good sign).

"He's  _just_  a neighbour" Aoko explained. "And sadly, my landlord too-"

"Landlord?" Sayaka rubbed her hands in glee. "He's rich?"

"I... don't know. He doesn't show it. But so what if he's rich?" Aoko scoffed. "All he's good at is flirting."  _And_  fixing leaking taps, balancing on railings and comforting pigeons. But those were irrelevant to mention it anyway.

Keiko smirked and leaned towards Aoko. "Not just rich but  _good_ at flirting? Tell me more."

Aoko groaned. "Don't put words in my mouth."

"I didn't! That's  _exactly_  what you said."

"But really," Emi butted in, indirectly saving Aoko and the need to think of a reply. "Is he the reason why you're distracted?" She asked in concern, her eyes wide and serious.

So serious Aoko nearly said the truth.

"Of course not." She managed a laugh, which sounded real, thankfully. "Even though my work is fine, there are times when I couldn't help thinking about it. That's all."

Aoko hated lying, but if she didn't want to spend the next five hours getting interrogated about things she still couldn't understand, that was her only choice then.

* * *

 

Aoko wasn't expecting a fast response when she knocked on his door at eight in the morning.

Kaito opened the door with a grin (as if he expected her), and the first thing she noticed besides his smile was the lack of the weariness she thought she would find in his eyes if he just woke up. She wondered if he was an early-riser, but based on her judgement, it was more likely that he had yet to sleep since last night.

"Good morning." Kaito said as he ran a hand across his hair (though it wasn't making any changes to his already unkempt style). "Here to invite me to have breakfast in your bed?"

She cast him a withering look. "You  _should_  know why I'm here."

He said nothing and stepped aside for Aoko to enter, and she stalked in with more confidence than she had yesterday. Everything looked the same (not like he could do any changes in a day), but she couldn't find the purpose of her visit anywhere.

Aoko frowned, staring at the empty dining table, where she last saw the pigeon yesterday. "Where's the pigeon?"

"Our son?" Kaito placed a hand over the back of his dining chair and leaned his weight against it lazily. "I ate it."

Her face flashed from surprise, horror and then finally anger. "You-!"

"I'm kidding, geez." Ha laughed, taking a step back from the intensity of her glare. "I called the Bird Rescue last night and they came to pick it up a while ago. I think it's better for it to be under their care than mine."

"You're serious, right?"

"You believed that I ate the bird but believed less that I called the Bird Rescue?"

"I find it hard to believe anything you said."

Kaito nodded his head thoughtfully. "Fair enough." Patting a hand over his pocket, he whisked out a phone and began thumping a few things on his screen before showing it to her. "I took a picture. In case, well, you miss our son." He said with a shrug. "But I guess this can be used for evidence too."

Aoko squinted her eyes.

Indeed, the picture showed two men wearing the same white collared shirt with a bird logo over their left chest. They were standing outside Kaito's door, and one of the men was holding onto a safe cage, where the pigeon was resting inside peacefully.

Satisfied, Aoko glanced away. "Good."

Unlike all the other puppies she'd visited at the shelter when she was in high-school, she hadn't spent enough time to grow any strong attachment with the pigeon. But their son- the pigeon! What on earth (Gosh, his weirdness was definitely infecting her brain).  _The pigeon_  was really cute, despite those sudden panic attacks Aoko remembered. It was still a pity that she didn't get to see it off. What were the chances that she could encounter a pigeon at close range again?

"Anyway. why didn't you say anything before you let me in your apartment?" Aoko furrowed her brows at the thought.

"That's why I haven't closed the door." Kaito kept his phone as he pointed over her shoulder. "It's already opened for you to stomp out any moment."

Aoko really would have, and she cursed herself inwardly for not being able to do so. Heaving a sigh, she awkwardly lifted the plastic bag, exposing it from where she had been hiding behind her back the entire time. "Well, I… have something for you." She muttered, trying not to cringe at how  _girly_ her words sounded, especially when it was directed to him too.

Kaito blinked, tilting his head and admiring her face like she was an artefact in a museum (and she didn't like it, not when it was causing her stomach to churn so weirdly out of the blue). "I thought you weren't here for me?"

"This is…" She paused, trying to find the right words in her head. "...This is a  _by the way_ , sort of thing."

"It's cute, the way you try to deny your feelings for me, but it's okay. One step at a time, no rush."

If it wasn't for the content in her bag and the possible murder charges for her attempt, Aoko would love to smash the plastic bag over his head. Instead, she choose an alternative and smacked his arm with a hand instead.

Her anger, like always, feed him like fuel for his chortles. "So what do you have for me?" Kaito asked while taking the bag from her.

Barely managing to calm down, she huffed. "A mug."

Kaito didn't seem to believe her until he fished out the said item from the bag, and his silence hinted his confusion more than his furrowed brows.

"It comes together as a set with the bowl and spoon." Aoko explained. "But don't worry, it's new. I thought maybe you need it. And also to, you know, save the earth. Don't buy so much of those plastic bottles when you can boil the water at home." She stopped her blabbering when a thought hit her. "Wait, do you even have a kettle?"

"I'll buy a kettle if that means I can use this mug." His said, his lips tugging to a grin. "I usually receive chocolates so this comes to me as a surprise. But thank you for the gift."

"It's not a gift." She quickly cut in. "I'm only lending it to you. Same goes for the bowl and spoon."

"Isn't it the same if I'm using it forever?"

"You're not going to stay long anyway."

Surprise lit up in his eyes, which made her inwardly surprise too—knowing that her words could get such a reaction out of him. "Why do you say so?" He asked.

"...It's been a while since you moved in but your house is still bare; it doesn't have the essence of home." She gestured across his sparse-looking apartment. "Everything feels so temporary, like you don't intend to stay for long."

He regarded her carefully. "Are you sad?"

She flinched. "What-?  _No._ "

"But you sound sad. Scared you'll miss me?"

"Stop being so egoistic. I'm saying since you asked."

"Yeap, understood."

He clearly didn't sound like he did, but Aoko couldn't give a damn—she knew whatever she said would be turned back against her,  _just because_ he was so damn smart to twist her words like that every time. She decided to execute her avoidance tactic and turned away instead, preparing to leave, only to stop when she realized there was something… she  _felt_ the need to say.

A credit she thought he truly deserved, for once, even if he thought otherwise.

"Anyway…" Aoko paused and turned in his hallway to face him. "I think you cared for the pigeon pretty well, even if you don't think so."

His slow smile told her a thousand reasons why she shouldn't have said what she said, though it was too late for that. "Can you repeat that again?"

"What for?"

"So I can record and play it before I sleep."

She should've seen the answer coming. "You're being idiotic."

His grin grew bigger at her words as he caressed the mug in his hands.

For the first time, though, she couldn't resist a smile back, but she hid it—barely—as she turned away and walked out of the door.  


* * *

 

The flowers in her room wilted a few days later.

 

* * *

 

It was one of those week when Kaito was gone again—his curtain was drawn close and balcony door was locked. A couple of days had passed since then and Aoko guessed it was nearing to his return, but it was her turn to leave; She shut her curtains and locked her balcony door like he did (She considered leaving a note on his door but thought otherwise).

She had received a call that her father was admitted to the hospital because of a bad fall (for chasing criminals too recklessly) and she'd been staying in his ward for the past two days and attending to all his needs whenever so. Most of the time his father slept, and she stayed up to work on her drafts and updates she still owed Ozawa for.

Coincidentally, she was working on her character, Reo, and his profile as a con-artist. Although her father was a good source for information since his division was devoted to fraud cases, they never talked much about his work since she was young. But besides knowing his job was to catch  _bad_ guys, she knew, out of all his complex cases, was that the one that robbed most of her father's time in her early eight years of her life—stealing him away from all the birthday celebrations that only her mother and other few playmates attended—was Kaitou Kid.

So, on her eighth birthday, she wished Kaitou Kid would disappear so she could spend her next birthday with her father.

And it happened.

After a heist in early January, Kaitou Kid suddenly vanished from the face of the earth. Kid could be irregular and spontaneous for everything but his schedules; He was faithful to hold a heist at least once a week. But even after half a year went by, there wasn't a single news about him. No announcements. No heist notes. Nothing. Just gone without warning. And soon enough, her father was ordered to stop all Kaitou Kid Force's operations and focused on other fraud cases they'd been neglecting for the thief.

That was how, for the first time in her life, Aoko celebrated her birthday with her father. But for the first time, too, without her mother.

She died on the way back home after buying more ingredients for dinner (since her father came back home much regularly now). A car accident. Instant kill. Gone without warning too.

And for the rest of their lives, they lived as that; A kid who never once celebrated her birthday with two parents and a man who lost two significant figures in his life within a year.

Aoko stopped her typing (the clacking sound was already muted by the soft snore coming from her father's side), and straightened her back, feeling the strain on her neck as she gave a stretch. She set her laptop on the couch and walked towards the empty jug on her father's bedside table.

Checking that he was still asleep, Aoko pulled the blanket further up to his chest before grabbing the jug and walked out of the ward. She needed a break anyway from her work and coping herself within the four white walls (though it wasn't as if anything outside the ward was beautifully colored either). She skipped out, greeting a few nurses along the way and softly hummed a song while passing the quiet wards.

As Aoko was about to turn round the corner and to where the nurses station was, she noticed a flash of blue down the corridor and stopped in time before passing the wall. Taking a few steps back, she stared at the  _blue_  again, and spotted two other colours—red and white.

_He was tall, with broad shoulders and built that was resulted from numerous visits to the gym, but his well-proportionate shape-_

Aoko widened her eyes like they were about to pop.

_Kuroba Kaito_

He was standing outside a door, donned in a formal wear again—blue dress shirt, red tie and white pants. He was tugging his collar with a hand, while the other was clutching onto a bouquet of flowers; this time he bought yellow lilies, white roses and pale-peach daisies wrapped in white-coloured papers.

Thinking back about the flowers she once kept in her room, something clicked in Aoko's head.

Those weren't for dates. Their purpose was for…

But Kaito wasn't moving. His eyes were fixated solemnly on the door.

Like how his colours caught her attention, it could be the same for Kaito too. Her contrasting purple shirt and blue jeans stood out among the whiteness of the hospital corridors, and noticing it from the corner of his eyes, he turned his head before she could register the thought to hide.

Their eyes met.

Blue with blue.

He widened his eyes like how she did.

Many things happened all at once; How her lips parted, how she saw his shoulders flinched at the sight of her, and how the door he was previously staring at suddenly slid open, and a young woman stepped out of the ward.

It was the woman's turn to look visibly shocked.

Even from the distance, Aoko could tell the woman was pretty; soft lips, perfect hair, and a figure that all women would be jealous of. Knowing Kaito, it shouldn't be surprising that he had connection with such a fine lady, but the only thing she didn't understand was the increasing tension, so much Aoko could feel it here.

"Kuroba," the lady pursed her lips. "How did you-"

His back was straightened, face masked like a stone, and he flicked his gaze away like he didn't notice Aoko at all. "Kudo told me." He replied stoically.

Aoko blinked.

_Oh._

The lady paused, red eyes watching him like a hawk. "Then-"

"I'll go first." Kaito interrupted, and without sparing a glance towards Aoko, he stalked off to another direction, leaving the lady standing by the door.

Once he disappeared behind a wall, the lady turned, her eyes lit up in brief surprise when she noted Aoko's presence; it was hard to  _not_ spot her when she was standing there and watching their conversation so blatantly. The woman narrowed her eyes, her face turned cold and calculating before she slid the door shut without a word.

Aoko gulped.

_Pretty… but scary._

Still clutching the jug to her chest, she tentatively walked towards the direction where Kaito left, making sure her footsteps sounded like a mute as she reached the nameplate on the door.

Black letters against white, the words spelt out  _Hakuba Saguru._  


* * *

   
Aoko found him not far from the entrance, back bent while sitting on a bench and watching a few kids running around the small garden. His red tie was dangling between his knees, and the bouquet of flowers was placed on the edge of the bench.

Abandoned, despite its beauty.

Absently, Aoko rubbed her thumb against the jug as she slowly made her way towards him. She didn't try to hide her presence at all, but for some reason, he didn't seem to notice her, until she sat next to him, and he spun his neck so fast towards her she thought it could have snapped.

"Hey." Was all Aoko said, pathetically. Well, at least she managed to cough out a word, unlike Kaito who was staring at her with wide eyes and pursed lips, but it was gone once she blinked.

She waited for him to ask why she was here, but he didn't, probably because he knew the answer to it. So, like how he used ignorance as some form of defence mechanism, he gave her a faint smile (one that didn't fit in Aoko's eyes).

"What a coincidence, I would say. Are you stalking me again?"

"...Yes."

Surprise engulfed his features before he smiled again. "That's unexpected. Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?"

"I can ask the same for you." She muttered.

He didn't answer her. Instead, he lowered his gaze and stared at the jug in her hand. "Visiting someone?"

The question came out differently, or rather not in a way she expected it to be. She guessed he hadn't been back home before he came  _here_ , since he didn't ask where she'd been when she was gone from her apartment the past few days. "Yeah. My father had a fall."

Concern flickered over his face. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine. Just have his rest and he'll heal. But... What about you?" She paused, trying to trace for any changes in his expression, but found none. She continued for him when he didn't reply. "You came to visit your friend?"

He looked away. "Not really."

"What do you mean?"

"As you'd seen, it didn't work out." He said, his voice strained to neutrality, just like his expression.

Aoko drummed her nails against the jug, teeth digging into her lower lip. "Why?"

Kaito stared blankly at her. "Why?"

"There's always a  _why_ for everything." Aoko smirked when she saw the flicker of recognition in Kaito's eyes. "It's a choice you made, unconscious or not."

He let out a breath that resembled a laugh. "I can't believe you bothered remembering my words."

Oh boy. If he knew how his words meant more than just remembering them...

Thankfully, Kaito turned away before she needed to figure out a reply. "I supposed I owed him." He continued, adding a shrug. "And I don't know what to say."

_"That said, I'm truthfully not good with apologies."_

She wondered if this was what he meant on the night he said it. Those sad eyes and burdensome weight over his shoulders… were they all for this? Guilt for a friend?

It could be more than that, of course; she had no clue about whatever that happened and it was all her wild guesses. But if this was the case, for Kaito to bear something so heavy because he thought he had to carry them, it just seemed unfair.

Taking in a deep breath, Aoko began. "Remember that time when you asked why I changed my career path?"

His eyes were fixated at her. "Yeah, I do."

"There's a story behind it, obviously."

"Is this chapter one?" He sat up eagerly. "After the prologue, I mean."

Her silence worked better than showing her anger, and he made a zipping gesture across his lips, urging her to continue.

"...It's not anything awe-inspiring.  _Or_  fascinating. Just something that made a change in my decision, I guess." She gulped and glanced up, to check if he was paying attention. He was, definitely, with the way he was staring intently at her, and she quickly cleared her throat to begin.

"As a writer, well, you can write whatever you want. You can control the actions of people and the outcome of certain destinies. But in real life, we can't control anything. We can't rewrite the mistakes like rewriting a paragraph you don't find fit. We can't change the ending of someone's life like editing the last chapter of a book." She lowered her gaze and stared at the empty jug in her hand, her reflection shining against the surface. "In reality, everything is so,  _so_  scary. I'd come across many ugly side of people and seen people's mistakes that caused great pain and disastrous consequences. I'd witnessed things that I couldn't bear to see and wanted to unsee. And all those things were too terrifying for me. I couldn't stand it at all. "

He watched her silently, his mind registering. "So you can't handle seeing bad people." He concluded.

"Knowing how someone can be manifested by hate and pain to  _turn_  from good to bad,  _that's_  the thing I couldn't take it. That's why... I think I'm not—never—ready to be a detective." Aoko straightened, taking in a deep breath to shake off those past, distant memories of her last few months as a police in training. "The diary I originally started off when my police training commenced turned into something else; all the notes and tragedies I'd written became a story with an ending I dreamt it to be. And I liked it. That's why I'm doing what I'm doing today, which was the choice you said everyone would make, unconscious or not."

Kaito said nothing.

Aoko continued. "No matter what choice you choose, there's one thing in common between all the options you have, which is that you've figured something out instead of mulling how it couldn't be changed or done better; like what you said about finding the possible root cause of my writer's block too." She paused, licking her lips. "And now I have; I want to write about the good in bad people too."

He continued staring at her (but she forced herself not to avert his gaze, no matter if her heart was beating faster than it ought to).

"So… um, my point is that maybe you haven't figured out the best approach yet, and not because you don't know what to say," Aoko waved a hand over his attire and pointed at the flowers. "These are nice and proper. But that's exactly the point; it doesn't suit you."

Before she knew it, Kaito suddenly laughed.

Aoko squirmed uncomfortably on the bench, wondering why she didn't seem to hate the sound of his laughter when she knew he was laughing at her. But she didn't have the heart to scold him, because right now she preferred seeing him normal and happy rather than anything else.

Instead of asking him to stop like what she would usually do, she decided to take it another way. "Why are you laughing?" She asked, watching him chortling behind the back of a hand.

Kaito managed to tone down as he uncovered his face to stare at her sideways. "Promise me you won't leave if I tell you."

She quirked an eyebrow, her wariness turned ten-fold, but as always, her curiosity won over every other things. "Okay."

He leaned against the bench, shoulders relaxed as he looked… and continued to look at her, like the night she remembered him did when he stood in front of her and next to the tap he fixed-

"Because I think you're an amazing woman." He said, his voice soft and tender. "And I can't believe I've yet to kiss you."

Her feet reacted so fast she almost felt herself flying up from her seat. "I'm leaving!" Aoko spat and turned, preparing to stomp off, but she felt a hand cuffing her wrist, instantly stopping her tracks. Gritting her teeth, she glared over her shoulder and at Kaito, who was looking at her with a fond look that she didn't quite… like.

His fingers—wrapped around her wrist like he was holding onto something fragile—were warm and tingling her skin like a spark of electricity that didn't hurt.

"You promised you wouldn't leave." He reminded her, bringing her concentration back to reality, rather than the warmth of his fingers and the cool blue-hues of his eyes.

"Promise is revoked." Aoko hissed.

"Why?"

"You were teasing me."  _Ugh_ , it felt so sickening to be admitting such… a thing to him.

Kaito blinked. "Since when did I tease you?"

"If you didn't, then what did you just say to me?"

"The exact reason why I was laughing."

Aoko heaved a sigh and shrugged off his grip. "Nonetheless, I'm leaving-"

"Wait." Kaito stood up and cut her path. If she'd taken an extra step, she would've knocked right into his chest.

She scowled and straightened the hem of her shirt. "What?"

He raised his arm—blue sleeves clinging tightly against his shoulder—and presented the bouquet in his hand.

"I-" Aoko stopped, her eyes widened at the bright colours; lavender rose, white daisies and yellow chrysanthemum, before looking at him incredulously.

"For you." Kaito said, probably taking her silence as confusion. "As thanks."

Aoko was more of stunned, actually. She frowned. What she last remembered seeing were yellow lilies and… actually she couldn't really remember what the flowers were, but it definitely didn't look like  _this_.

"It's different from the one you had." Aoko spoke her observations aloud.

"Hm? Is it?"

Her confidence faltered. _Was it my imagination? He couldn't possibly change the bouquet out of nowhere too._ "I don't want it anyway."

Kaito tilted his head, his blue eyes large and unblinking, and for a moment Aoko thought it managed to dull the colours of the flowers- "Would you rather have a thank you kiss?"

"...Will you shut up if I take the flowers?"

"Maybe."

Aoko snatched the bouquet from his hand. "There."

Kaito grinned. "How romantic."

Rolling her eyes, she walked around him, continuing the path he blocked. "I'm going back. Bye."

He didn't stop or follow her like what she thought he would. And it was hard, so damn hard to resist the urge to turn around and see what he was doing, but the tingling sensation at the back of her neck—an instinct—told her his eyes were on her, watching as she went.

The feeling was gone once she entered the hospital.

Despite her haste and big strides, her father was already awake when she returned to his ward. Luckily, though, she had managed to cool down, her face didn't feel as hot and flushed as the moment she left the bench.

"Where did you go?" Her father asked, watching as Aoko stumbled into the room.

"To refill-" She paused as she lifted the empty jug in her hand.  _Crap._ She'd totally forgotten her main objective!

He raised an eyebrow as he gestured over the bouquet in her hand. "What are those anyway?"

"I- um," Aoko licked her lips nervously. As much as she wasn't willing to lie, she'd rather save herself from explaining about Kaito and  _everything_ that happened between them (even though there wasn't anything that happened at all). "I supposed it can spice the ward up a little."

Her father gave a grunt in response. "You know there's no need for that."

"Yeah, but it's… nice." Aoko placed the bouquet on the bedside table before clutching onto the empty jug tightly to her chest; a reminder she needed. "I'll go get some water. And a vase."

Aoko skipped out of the ward again, determined to get her job done with no distractions (But she did slow down her steps when she reached the corridor she found Kaito previously. It was empty, with no sign of his wavy black hair and striking red tie).

 

* * *

 

Her curiosity was satisfied two days later when the pretty lady approached Aoko at the cafeteria while she was in the midst of buying a drink for herself. Given only a quick tap of the shoulder, Aoko got the hint and quickly paid her drink before jogging towards the lady, who was standing outside and waiting like what her hand silently signalled.

"Hi-"

"Are you Nakamori Aoko?"

"Y-Yes." It was a little hard to be calm, especially in front of a pretty lady. Now up-close, she looked even more beautiful (From the corner of Aoko's eyes, she could see a few men's heads turning towards their direction too.)

"My name is Akako." Akako introduced herself as she brushed her hair over her shoulder, an effortless way to expose her collarbones. "You know Kuroba, don't you?"

The pace of questioning was so fast Aoko didn't have a chance to ask how she knew her name, but she decided it wasn't important. Kaito probably told her, or something like that. "Yes, I do."

Akako eyed her carefully. "You're his?"

"I'm his neighbour." Aoko blurted, and it made her wonder how many times had she said this sentence already.

"Hmm. For a neighbour, you're quite remarkable."

Again, every topic about her relationship with Kaito always left her speechless. "...What?"

"Here's a word of advice from me." Akako muttered, her voice stern and face solemn. "Don't get too close to him."

"We're not close, really." Aoko laughed and waved a hand, trying to dispel the sudden hostility she wasn't sure why she would feel.

Akako pursed her lips warningly. "He'll eventually bring you misfortune."

Days of annoyance yes, but  _that_  seemed like an exaggeration. "M-Misfortune?" Aoko clarified. "Of what sort?"

"Any." Akako answered, just a beat off.

"Something like what happened to Hakuba Saguru?" Aoko blurted out, but it was too late to retract her words when she realized what left her mouth. Her blood froze like what time seemed to have too, and she dared herself to glance at Akako, whose facial expressions were steely and impassive.

The exit wasn't far from here and Aoko would love to run for it and jump into the pond right outside, but her legs were squashed closely together, fidgety and wobbly from her terrible mistake. "I-It was insensitive of me." Aoko squeaked. "I'm sorry-"

"Doesn't matter."

Aoko lowered her gaze to the drink in her hand. Of course it  _did_ matter, but no point crying over spilt milk. "Um, is he alright?"

"His condition is stable." Akako said, her tone sounded much warmer than before.

Stable? How serious was he before to be considered stable now? Aoko bit her lips, unsure if she had the rights to ask. In the end, she backed out and decided to go for a nod instead, to at least acknowledge the fact Akako willingly shared.

"I see, that's good then. And you're his?"

"Wife."

Aoko nodded thoughtfully again, but it was an inward measure to prolong her time so she could reprocess Akako's words. If Aoko didn't know, she would have thought Akako was jealous because of her relationship with Kaito. But seeing that she was already married (the ring on her finger confirmed the answer too), it couldn't be the case, right?

And if so... where did Kaito fit into the picture then? Were they all friends? How did this got to do with Shinichi? Why was Hakuba Saguru in the hospital? What was Kaito feeling guilty about? Or possibly responsible? She wasn't sure what question to ask, or where to even start.

But after thinking twice, Aoko wasn't sure if she wanted to know either. If Kaito wasn't  _just_  a flirty and infuriating landlord and neighbour, what else could he be to her? What if she knew something she didn't want to know? What if she couldn't unsee them? Like all the bad things she'd seen in the supposedly good people?

"...Akako-san, may I ask a question?"

She paused, observing from under her long eyelashes. "What is it?"

Aoko gulped. "Is Kaito a good person?"

There was a moment of silence, and before Aoko wondered if she had blurted out something wrong again, Akako suddenly let out a cackle (and more men had their heads turned towards their direction). "What's with the question?"

It'd be weird to say it was her instinct that begged for the answer, so she shrugged and returned a nervous laugh. "A random thought."

"This is a subjective question." Akako said, her red eyes turning slightly distant, as though she was searching for something in her memory. "And subjectively, I'll say yes."

_Subjectively… yes?_

Before the silence got too long, Akako cleared her throat. "If there's no other question, I'll be going. Goodbye Nakamori-san."

"Goodbye."

Aoko watched her go until she disappeared behind a wall.

It only occurred to her much later that Akako didn't answer if what happened to Hakuba Saguru was the misfortune she was talking about.

 

* * *

 

 

"You're finally home after so long. Welcome back."

Aoko sighed, casting a wry glance at Kaito as she watched him standing in the middle of his balcony, arms spread wide and open as he  _welcomed_ her back. She shut the balcony door behind her and approached her railings, not giving any credits for his efforts because she didn't  _ask_  for this.

"I honestly didn't know you'd been suffering all these while." Kaito continued despite her silence as he placed a hand theatrically on his chest and sniffed. "Is this how you feel whenever I'm gone?"

She was sure it would definitely  _not_ be how she felt, but she decided to play along to see what interesting thing he would say. "What?"

"Desperate longing."

Aoko rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. "If you say any more of those stupid things, I'd be desperate to go back in." But it was partially a lie, actually. After being exposed to those disinfectant smell inside the hospital for so long, it would take Kaito a lot harder to chase her back in so quickly. She was desperate for some fresh air out on her balcony today.

Kaito looked hurt, or feigned like he was, but perhaps knowing she wasn't interested, those expressions were gone as fast as it came. "So, how's your father?" He asked. His tone, for once, sounded levelled and serious.

"He's fine now. Strong like a bull." She answered. Well, after lots of pressure from her grumbling father, the doctors decided to clear him and sign him out, but Aoko also made sure he was truly well enough before she signed the forms too. She'd visit her father sooner or later, just to check up on him again.

Kaito smiled, big and genuine. "That's good to hear." He nodded his head and rested his arms over the railings too.

_Then what about Hakuba Saguru?_

Even though it had always been in her mind, Aoko didn't mention anything about her conversation with Akako, not that she dared to anyway. What could she get out of it? More confusion? Awkward moments? That sickening tension she had with Kaito that night on the balcony long time ago? (It was  _definitely_  long, long time ago, but she wasn't interested in reminiscing it). She gave him a quick glance before looking over the buildings that were painted in gold and orange from the brush of the setting sun.

Whatever relationship they had now, whatever impression she had of him and whatever facade he was letting her see, she'd prefer to keep it that way. Even if deep down her heart and instinct were trying to tell her  _something else_ all along.

"Hey." Aoko spoke, breaking the short silence. And in a millisecond, Kaito's attention snapped onto her (which was flattering, actually. Even the most enthusiastic dogs would take a while before they responded to her calls). "Can I ask you something? And as serious as you can, answer me this."

He made no promises to her and silently waited.

Aoko continued. "Why, of all places, did you choose to live here?"

"The ever-curious tenant, I see." Kaito smiled, and Aoko swore she saw his shoulders relaxed. Judging from his visible relief, she wondered what he was afraid of—something he didn't want her to ask?

"You know I can't help it." She scoffed, just for the sake of replying.

"Can't help to be interested in me?"

"Can't  _help_  but feel like throwing you off the balcony."

Realization dawned upon his face as he stroke his chin. "Is that part of the plot you're writing? Serial killing? By throwing people off their balcony?"

Aoko rolled her eyes. "You're infuriating, do you know that?"

"Not really. But I heard it a few times."

" _A few times_  must be an understatement. Back to the question I asked."

Simple and at ease, his lips curled up to a grin. "My stay here is a recreational thing."

"...Recreational?" She tilted her head, brows furrowing.

"Yeah, fun and relaxing, that's it. Besides, the view here is amazing too." Kaito said, and he sounded almost like a boy describing what his favourite ice cream tasted like. But he wasn't looking at the orange-tinted sky or the scenic landscape. He was looking at her.

Clearing her throat, Aoko turned away, to admire the view Kaito _should_ be talking about. "So you're a retiree? Relying on our rents as an income?" She drawled.

"Yes. And also, how kind of you to remind me," he smirked, his eyes twinkled with a mischievous glint. "You're late with the rent payment."

Letting out a gasp of disbelief, Aoko fished out her phone from her pocket, checking the date. And indeed, like what Kaito claimed, she was two days late. "Oh Crap- Sorry. It totally slipped my mind because of my dad's matter." She tugged her phone away sheepishly. "I'll give it to you later."

His smirk was _so_  annoying. "There should be additional interest for that."

"Can't you close an eye for it?" Aoko sighed, gritting her teeth. "This is my first time too."

Kaito contemplated for a moment. "Invite me for your next curry dinner. I'll take that as an interest."

Aoko blinked, trying to register his request in her head. "That's worth more than any kind of interest; I don't cook for anyone."

A smile spread across his cheeks like spilt honey on table. "But you did for me."

_Tell me about the curry. Ask him about the curry. Tell me about the curry. Ask him about the curry-_

"T-That doesn't count!" Her cheeks bloomed bright red, and she barely managed to stop herself from choking on her bad stutters. "Those were leftovers. That's why I gave them to you."

"And not because you're secretly in love with me?"

"In your dreams."

He gasped in exaggeration. "How do you know that's exactly what I dreamt every single night?"

"Good _bye_." She spat, sticking out her tongue before stomping inside her apartment. Perhaps it wasn't  _that_  difficult for Kaito to chase her back into her own apartment after all.

"So it's settled? Tomorrow dinner?" Kaito said as he leaned against his railing and towards the direction of her balcony. "I'll be standing outside your door at six."

Poking her head out of her balcony door for the last time, Aoko sneered. "And if I don't answer?"

"Then I'll jump over, gladly."

She scoffed. "Let's see about that."

Even without looking at him, Aoko could hear the smirk in his voice. "Deal." She heard him say, just before she slid the door shut behind her.

 

* * *

 

 

Kaito came the next day, punctual at six and standing outside her door like what he promised. He brought his own mug, along with the carton of orange juice he bought in his recent purchase.

Aoko let him in,  _just_ because she didn't want him to start being dramatic. If she mocked him to try getting in through her balcony, she  _believed_ he would do it, for the sake of nothing.

Besides, she  _did_  prepare his portion for him. So might as well, huh.

An hour later, they finished the entire pot of curry.

Until now, Aoko still didn't ask how her curry was and he didn't tell her how he felt about the curry. They only exchanged multiple silly remarks during the dinner, briefly mentioned what they did earlier in the morning, and chatted about the TV show they were coincidentally a fan of. And coincidentally, again, the show was airing in another fifteen minutes. So Kaito, a master of brilliant plans—as quoted by himself—convinced her that he'd do the dishes and she should prepare the snacks, just so they could watch it together on time.

Done with her duties (but not for Kaito), Aoko was sitting on the couch before a plate of cookies and two mugs of orange juice, watching some commercial and waiting for the show to start.

_"He'll eventually bring you misfortune."_

Kaito didn't bring her anything fanciful like wealth, fame or fortune, but he did bring a little change. A little difference. A little something that made Aoko's life better than she could be by herself (She might have given him too much credit like he once said, but she still thought it was the truth). But misfortune...

Halfway through the commercial, Aoko glanced at Kaito as he danced to his own whistles while cleaning the dishes and wondered, hard and seriously, about the misfortune he could bring to her.

What came in her mind was a blank.

Maybe she'd figure it out someday, but today wouldn't be that day.

 

 

* * *

 

 

"This apartment?"

"Yes boss."

The man's lips twitched, flicking the ashes off the tip of his cigarette. "Burn it down."

With a flick of a thumb, the lighter lit up, its fire wavering brightly under the three men's black fedora hats.

Then a toss.

Over the floor that smelt like kerosene.

Flames.

_Burnt like hell._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Hope you guys liked it :>


	3. Enduring

Many considered Aoko friendly and someone trustable to talk to—at least that was what most of the people she knew said—but even when it had been more than half a year since Kaito moved in; seeing him consistently in her life, hearing his superficial interests and dealing with his exaggerated feelings and whatnots,  _friendly_  and  _trust_  were things they still didn't really have for each other.

Basically, she wasn't sure if she treated him as her friend. Besides, she didn't know what he regarded her as well other than a tenant that knew how to cook curry (But it wasn't as if she needed  _or_ wanted to know where she was positioned in his life,  _nuh-uh_ ).

So, even after all these months passed, she never inquired about his life. Not about his family (that precious photograph), about his relationship with Kudo Shinichi (which seemed bad rather than good) or about Hakuba Saguru (the misfortune she would never know).

It was something like a give and take. She would only take as much as she was given, which was none. He never once showed any intention to tell her anything. Nothing about why he was occasionally gone from home, where he went during those day or what he did. Not a single clue. Like a mystery. A suspense thriller. Always keeping her guessing, wondering when he would come back. Because that was something he never told her too.

That was why when he told her  _"I'll be out and back by evening,"_ as she just returned from her grocery shopping, she was utterly baffled and surprised, so much that she stood outside her door, trying to digest his words despite how he'd long disappeared down the corridor and stairs.

 _I should make curry,_ was all she could think of after she went into her apartment, even though the ingredients she bought were for the purpose of making tempura. Then somewhere in between of chiding herself for suiting to Kaito's preference and wondering if curry was a better idea for dinner, fate helped her made her decision when she couldn't find her fryer pot.

Curry it was.

Half an hour later, she headed out for the supermarket again.

It would just be a simple, extra purchase. No need for a memo. No need for a basket. Aoko skipped through the sections by heart, walking past the shelves until she stopped to the one she came for. She grabbed a small pack of potatoes, along with some more vegetables she found (because Kaito needed them, that undernutrition-idiot), and headed to the cashier.

All paid and bagged, she went home, whistling on her way. Everything had been going on quite smoothly for her lately, which explained her good mood. Her writing schedule was on track and her time management had improved enough to spend more quality time with her favourite people. The thought of meeting her father over the weekend made her lips tug, until when she was nearing her apartment and saw some weird, thick black clouds above the building.

Frowning, she increased her pace. She saw a crowd had gathered when she got closer home, and her stomach gave a nasty flip when she realized the  _black cloud_  she saw wasn't actually black clouds.

There was a fire. Thick, red-burning fire was enveloping the top of the building, at the same time producing black smoke as it filled the air, turning the originally beautiful orange-tinted sky to something ugly to look at.

Aoko hastily joined the crowd. There were a few people who just saw the fire and they were all frantically asking questions despite the obvious—just like herself. Among the angsty people, she manage to spot someone calm, someone who probably stayed there the longest to know what had exactly happened.

"Kenji-san!" Aoko called out; the neighbour below her floor who loved to play the guitar once in a while. She remembered those nights when Kaito and her stood on their balconies, silently listening to the strums of his guitar, feeling the-

This wasn't the time to think about that.

Kenji turned, relief washed over his features. "Aoko-chan! What a blessing you're out of your apartment! We've been trying to contact you when you weren't in the headcount!"

She dropped her bags of groceries onto the ground. "The fire-"

"A fire broke out on the top floor. Seems like it's from Kaito-kun's apartment." Kenji squinted his eyes as he stared at the flames. "Luckily Sawaka-san was coming home from work and saw the smoke. It wasn't big yet then and we've evacuated everyone out."

 _Kaito's…?_  Aoko glanced up, teeth digging into her bottom lip. "Has anyone contacted the fire brigade?"

"They're on their way."

Aoko sighed in relief and dug her bag for her phone. Indeed there were a total of five missed calls, all coming from her different neighbours. She glanced around, trying to find more familiar faces. Perhaps she could go around and inform them that she was safe. It was the least she could do when they were concerned.

She was about to pick up her groceries when she dropped them on the ground again. "Did anyone see Kaito?"

Kenji shook his head before widening his eyes. "Wait, you don't think he's-"

"He's not in. He went out and told me he'll be back by evening." Aoko glanced at her phone's clock. It was already evening though…

"Perhaps his kettle caught fire because he didn't take care of it?" Kenji's frown told Aoko he wasn't even convinced about his own guess. She wasn't convinced too, obviously. How was it possible for a fire to break out when his home didn't even have a  _mug_ , much less a kettle. It was too bare and empty to-

Aoko widened her eyes.

Almost as if her knees gave way, she squatted down and began emptying the content of her bag. Her purse, along with some loose coins and water bottle, rolled out, and she shook a little bit more until the handkerchief she needed fell out. Unscrewing her bottle, she poured the water and soaked her entire handkerchief, turning it one shade darker than before.

Kenji, who was silently staring at Aoko the entire time, seemed to understand what she was about to do. He shook his head vigorously, "Aoko-chan, are you-?"

"I need to go back."

"Go back? That's insane!" Kenji grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. "It's too dangerous!"

She placed a hand over Kenji's hand, giving it a squeeze. "It's only for a moment. I'll return soon."

Aoko had a feeling if Kaito was here, he might do what she was going to do. And she would be like Kenji, trying to convince him otherwise but on another level by calling him even meaner things that involved his brain cells and value for his own life. In the end, still, she bet he would just grin at her, shrug her hands off, and ran away like the wind

But he wasn't here, wasn't  _back by evening_  like he promised. But maybe it was all the better. Because if she had to be in the role of Kenji, she might as well just be the one jumping into the fire; it was equally torturing.

Slapping the damp handkerchief over her mouth, she dashed for the stairs.

 

* * *

 

 _"Are you not scared?"_ Aoko remembered asking Kaito after he hopped onto his railings and wobbled on it for a few seconds (she knew he was just putting on a show to rile her up) before jumping over to the safe ground of her balcony.

His dusted his hands even though he didn't use them.  _"Nope."_

 _"How?"_ Aoko frowned. She'd listed all the jobs she could think of that involved heights; circus performer, fireman, rock-climber instructor, pilot and even as far as a window cleaner. But he was none of those.

_"How what?"_

_"How are you not scared?"_

_"Determination."_ He grinned when he noticed her confused gaze. _"Because all that was in my head wasn't the fear of falling to my death. It was my determination to get over. To you."_

Aoko shivered and rubbed a hand down her arm to ease the hair that stood.  _"This is the most cheesiest thing I've ever heard."_

 _"Believe it or not, it's true."_ He said, which was ironic because it didn't sound as convincing as the times he teased about his feelings for her (even though she didn't believe it either). But before Aoko could continue the conversation, he ended it by walking past her and into her living room with a skip.  _"So,"_ he turned, eyes glinting with glee. _"What are you cooking for dinner tonight?"_

Now, thinking back about the conversation, Aoko understood what Kaito meant that day.

_Determination._

That was really all she needed to get her up and standing on her balcony railings with toes curling over the edge.

Aoko looked across to Kaito's balcony. Black fumes was seeping out the gap of his balcony door, with specks of red sparks and dusts flying out and into the distance too, blending into the orange setting sun. Despite a distance, Aoko could feel the immense heat all the way here. She took in a deep breath, which she regretted immediately as she spat, trying to get rid of the disgusting, choking feeling at the back of her throat. She held her breath and flipped her handkerchief to a new side before slapping it over half of her face again.

She glanced to the sky.

It was getting dark soon.

 _No. Don't look anywhere else._ She gulped and stared ahead. _Don't. Don't!_

Aoko tried to remember Kaito's words again. Yes. Nothing should be in her head. Not about the height. Not about her trembling legs. Her line of sight, attention and focus should be on the floor of his balcony, the spot where Kaito always stood and watched her from his side.

She almost imagined him standing there.

No.  _No._  Not that too. Stop thinking.  _Stop_ thinking. Not about the height. Not about her trembling legs.  _And_  not about him. Not now, at least.

There should only be one thing in her mind.

Slowly as Aoko shifted her stiff legs on her railing, she pressed the handkerchief hard against her face and prepared her stance.

_If he can do it, I can do it too._

With that, Aoko jumped.

 

* * *

 

There was a ringing sound in Aoko's ear for as long as she remembered after bursting out of Kaito's apartment door and into the arms of two firemen.  _They were angry_ was sort of an understatement, but she didn't retaliate or try to defend herself as they helped her down the building.

First thing first, she clearly knew the terrible risk she had took, and there was no excuses for her actions at all. Second… the ringing in her ears still hadn't stopped, and she could barely hear anything the firemen said, even till they brought her to a standby ambulance.

After the firemen went off, a male paramedic put an oxygen mask over her head and began tending to her right hand that got a slight abrasion (she didn't even realize she got it actually). He was particularly talkative too, but being unable to read his lips at all, she only watched his mouth moved at a fast speed, until her hearing slowly came back to her.

"...and people died because they think they're capable, but they are wrong in the end. You got to count yourself lucky. For you to be sitting here after that ordeal, it's all pure luck, okay. Nothing else. Don't even think that you'll be safe the second time."

Aoko smiled. He almost sounded like her dad, like that one time she fell off a swing when she was five because she swung it too high, thinking that by some chance maybe she could fly. Turned out she was wrong, of course.

The paramedic looked up, eyes narrowing when he caught her smile. Aoko quickly brushed it off.

"That thing that you risked your life for," he asked after a pause. "What made you do it?"

"Determination." Aoko mumbled behind the mask, the word flowed out before she even caught what she said.

He frowned, obviously disapproving the answer as he returned to check her bandaged hand. "Determination?" He echoed.

She gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah."

"The answer I expected was because it's important to you."

Aoko shook her head. "It's not mine. It's my landlord's."

His head jerked up as he raised both of his eyebrows. "Your landlord's? Are you kidding the hell out of me?"

She couldn't blame him for the reaction. Now that she heard it out from her mouth, it did sound rather stupid. Just a little. "Well-"

"What's the landlord to you?"

Aoko blinked. "He's just my landlord."

"Then he must be one hell of a landlord, for you to have that hell of a determination to get his thing for him."

"...For a paramedic, you sure say a lot of the word  _hell_."

"Because I've seen it too many times." He gestured to the burnt building behind him. Tempted, though slightly reluctant, Aoko peered over his shoulder and stared at the  _mess_ , rather than the  _home_  she loved. Though the fire—the red blaring  _hell_ —was put out and gone, the upper building badly needed a repaint for the charred and tainted exteriors.

Aoko pursed her lips.

"I've done what's needed to dull the pain and prevent infection. There still a need for you to go to the hospital to get a full check-up." The paramedic said before pointing to the other side of the crowd. "I'll be tending to another patient. Rest here."

"Okay. Thank you."

He left, leaving Aoko alone with nothing but her filled thoughts. No, maybe not. She shifted her seat, revealing the photo frame she hid behind her all the while. There, staring back at her, was Kaito's mom, Kaito's dad, and small, happy Kaito.

The photograph—the only thing that made his apartment a home—was all he had. With his apartment gone, this was indeed all he had  _left_.

She picked it up and brushed a finger down the chipped wooden frame. Like what she guessed and hoped before she made the jump over, she found the photograph under his pillow like the last time she saw it. And now that she got it, she wasn't sure what to do next for step two.

Her face felt prickling hot again, almost like that moment when she was face to face with the fire, just that there wasn't any and it all came from her stupid embarrassment. It suddenly occurred to her that the  _step two_  involved giving back the photo frame to Kaito, and she wasn't sure how without confessing that she knew this much about him, almost like a crazy stalker-

"Are you crazy?!"

Aoko straightened, glancing up. Incoming was a figure stomping towards her, and before the light from the ambulance car managed to make out the shape of his face and features, she already recognized the voice and strides.

Kaito approached, towering over and taking up all the space around her. His brows were furrowed and lips were pursed, and he looked worse than what she ever seen of him. Worse than Shinichi's confrontation, and worse that Akako's appearance.

It seemed her step two had started on a bad note.

"Kenji said you went back to the burning building." He growled, eyes narrowing.

She scooted on the edge of the ambulance car and adjusted the oxygen mask over her face nervously. "Um…"

"Was it for your computer? Your writing drafts-" His outburst stopped when he glanced past her injured hand and to the photo frame she was holding. As if someone casted an instant spell, his features contorted with various emotions passing through, and then something even terrible happened—his face went blank.

Unsure about what she could do, Aoko tentatively raised her arm and showed him the photo frame. "I… went back to get this."

A long moment had passed before he finally took the frame from her hand. His fingers stroked the side as he stared at the photograph, and the silence only emphasized how empty his eyes were.

Kaito looked—

_(bereft, and so very lonely… His shoulder slouched like the world was weighing him down, yet it was ironic because it looked like the world was the one that abandoned him)_

—just like that night at the balcony long time ago.

"Don't ask how I know about it." She tried for a smile, desperately hoping to see at least a hint of a smile in return, but his lips didn't move. "Just take it as-"

"Why did you do that?"

It wasn't the way he interrupted her that stunned her shock to a mute. It was his voice; The curtness, so cold and steely. And for a moment Aoko thought she heard someone else's voice rather than his.

Her twisted throat made her choke behind the oxygen mask. "I… I thought it's important to you."

"It is," he looked up, and Aoko held her breath at the sight of his face. His eyes were wide and unspeakably sad, and she could tell he was straining himself to not let any more of his emotions to show.

It was such a horrible thing to see.

"But it's just a photo." His voice was so low, so tired. "No matter what, they're already gone."

Oh.

_Oh, no._

"Kai…" Her chest swelled with ache, so much that it was hard to breathe, much less talk.

"If anything happens to you… I- What am I supposed to do?"

There was no tease, no mockery. Nothing.

And she had no idea what to say.

He sighed, his eyes scanning across her wearily. "Are you okay?" He finally asked.

"Yeah." She replied, but with the oxygen mask and bandaged hand, it wasn't really that convincing at all.

But he didn't argue, or force her to admit that no, nothing was okay (not for her and him too). He only nodded in reply before he turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd with the photo frame in his hand.

He never once looked back—and with the best of her efforts, she tried to convince herself it had nothing to do with the sinking feeling that was pulling her chest down.

Aoko honestly felt lost, not just because of her possible destroyed home or belongings, but it was the pang of regret for doing the thing she thought was right.

What made it worse was it all turned out wrong.

 

* * *

 

Apparently the  _Fire Accident_ , as what everyone called it, appeared on the news later at night. She did notice a few reporters lingering around the scene beforehand, interviewing witnesses and some abled casualties, but she was lucky to not get involved as her paramedic returned no sooner to drive her to the hospital in the ambulance. She thought she was lucky, because if anyone asked her for comments, she wasn't sure what to say.

But in truth, tons of things were flooding her mind like a dam that broke.

Was it really as simple as an accident? For a house that didn't even have a kettle or a damn pot, where the hell could the fire come from? Accident? Misfortune? What were the possibilities they were related? But she knew better than to think too much and kill her brain cells. With most of the information kept confidential and classified, as a resident and citizen, there was nothing else to do but to believe it was all a _Fire Accident_.

Putting the tragedy aside, this broadcasted incident helped to shine out who were her true friends, and Aoko was more than touched to know that all of them were. The help and love she received were immense, and out of the countless offers, she decided to stay at Keiko's house for the time being until things settled down. She explained to her father on the phone, left Jii a voice message (she didn't have Kaito's number) and sent everyone her thanks. By the time she finished her hospital check-up and was released, Keiko was waiting for her at the lobby with open arms.

Without much of her belongings, Aoko spent the entire night and the following day simply resting indoor, flipping through both magazines and channels on the television. Despite how she'd been to Keiko's house a ton in the past and treated this place almost like her home, she still missed everything that was  _hers_ ; the fluffiness of her bed, the light her fridge emitted, the fresh air on her balcony and-

And  _what?_

Keiko was always nice, and she was also a good conversationalist. Since their dinner a while ago, they had been talking non-stop in her bedroom about everything and anything, just nothing related to the  _Fire Accident_. Aoko was sure she never explicitly told Keiko that she didn't want to talk about it, but she might be showing her reluctance too obviously as well. Some things may be good to share to let off the burden, but not for this.

"And then my colleague was like-"

Halfway through Keiko's story telling about what happened during her work, the doorbell rang.

"...Who could it be at this hour?" Keiko raised from the floor, her nose scrunching before she looked at Aoko. "What's the chance that it's a serial killer?"

Aoko laughed. "If I'm writing the story, it'll be over 80 percent."

"Wow. Thanks for the comfort." Keiko scoffed as she left her bedroom. "Back me up, okay."

"Sure."

A few moments later, while keeping herself occupied by looking through the emails on her phone, Keiko suddenly returned and appeared by the door, her face flushed from both the running and what seemed like shock, considering how wide her eyes were.

"Keiko?" Aoko straightened and put her phone aside. "What's wrong?"

"Y-Your landlord's here."

"What?" Aoko scrambled to her feet and dashed out of the room. "Kaito?"

Following behind Aoko, Keiko cracked her knuckles, face puffed in fury. "I feel like punching Ozawa right now." She huffed.

Aoko glanced past her shoulder, but her stride to the door was still fast, still urgent. "What are you talking about?"

"He said your landlord is good-looking. But I didn't know your landlord is-"

"Aoko-chan."

Aoko stopped in the middle of the living room, her eyes grew wide at the guest she  _wasn't_ expecting instead. "Jii-san." She stared at the old man standing at the entrance, his usual smile plastered on his face.

"Jii-san?" Keiko gasped, looking between the two of them. "He's not  _that_  Kaito-?"

Glancing embarrassingly at Jii, Aoko shook her head. "I'll tell you about it later."

Thankfully, Keiko got the hint and didn't press further. She squeezed Aoko's arm as a silence assurance and retreated to her room while Aoko walked to the door.

"Jii-san, good evening. What brings you here?"

"Sorry to disturb you and your friend." Jii said, taking out a large envelope from his work bag and handed it to her. "This is for you."

Tilted her head, Aoko took it and unsealed the cover to look at the content. There were tons of papers inside.

"This is…?"

"These are the details of the insurance we've bought for all the residents. Do read through to see if all is fine and let me know."

"I see. I'll look at it later." Aoko nodded, caressing the envelope. "Thank you for coming all the way down."

"No worries. With all the troubles that happened, this is the least I can do."

The gratified smile didn't last long on her lips as she lowered her tired gaze to the floor. She intended to apologize to Jii for Keiko's outburst, but she thought better of it; she was sure her own disappointing look on her face was much ruder than what Keiko did.

It was better to not mention anything.

Sighing inwardly, she took in a deep breath, to build up her courage to get the ball of the conversation rolling again. "How is Kaito?" Aoko asked.

"He's fine."

She wanted to know more than that. About how he was coping with his destroyed apartment, where he was living, what he was going to do and many more things that she had been thinking about, but all those words died in her throat, just like every time.

Jii seemed to understand her concerns, or at least was kind enough to update her even though she didn't (couldn't) ask. "He's currently busy with some matters and that's why I'm here in his stead."

"And not because he's angry at me?" Aoko blurted. At least her tongue managed to work this time.

"Of course he is." Jii said, which made Aoko jerk her head up in surprise. "You endangered your life." He continued.

 _Right, Kaito must have told Jii about it._  Aoko lowered her gaze. "I'm-"

"But I'm sure he's not angry at you anymore. If he is, you wouldn't be the first on the list of people he wanted me to check and pass the documents to."

Aoko's head jerked up again, this time eyes wide from shock instead of shame.

"Besides that, I want to thank you too. No one would have done what you did for Kaito, and I have to admit that I wouldn't too." Jii said, filling up the silence that Aoko couldn't break. "That photograph is important to him."

She fiddled with the corner of the envelope, her eyes darting across the floor before she looked at Jii after finding the voice in her to speak. "The photograph… His parents…"

His warm smile fell, just a little. "They passed away in an accident when he was young. I took care of him ever since."

Aoko widened her eyes. She wasn't sure what shocked her more; The fact that she expected the answer, or because Jii was strangely open about telling her the truth, or how the word  _accident_  echoed in her head so distinctively, almost close to an alarm.

"Anyway," Jii cleared his throat. "I shall not disturb you and your friend. Goodnight."

"Ah, yeah...Thank you too, and goodnight."

Aoko closed the door after Jii left, and not knowing what to do, she stood there, letting the time to tick-

"I heard the door closed but you didn't come back in-" Keiko frowned, her steps turned tentative as she approached Aoko. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Aoko rubbed an eye. "I think I just need a long sleep."

"Yes you should. I'll help prepare the futon."

"Thanks."

She stared at the envelope in her hand. Yes, she got a lot to read. She needed to check on her apartment and belongings soon, going through what could be salvaged and what could not. If something was wrong, she definitely had to extend her writing deadlines, and there would be more penalties, more troubles. But first, she needed her sleep. All these head-aching problems could be dealt tomorrow.

(Strange as it seemed, she wondered why it was her heart that ached more than what should have been her head)

 

* * *

 

Aoko thought  _Miracles_  and  _Luck_ were two different thing. It'd take a miracle for anyone to sleep through the loud and annoying construction noises next door—All the hammering and drilling of the burnt walls and ceilings. Luck, for Aoko, was when the construction always stopped after she stepped out of her house. It was an accurate representation of how  _rotten_ her luck was.

Similarly, it'd take some kind of luck to see a pigeon resting on Kaito's balcony railings when she was on her own balcony too. And it'd take more than a miracle for that pigeon to be the same one Kaito saved and nurtured back then.

How long has it been since that incident? One month ago? Three months ago? But it all seemed insignificant when the memory was as clear as it being yesterday's, and that was the magic with time, especially when you just want it to move backwards.

The pigeon cooed, its beady eyes staring at Kaito's balcony door.

All pigeons looked the same, same for those  _cooing sound_  they made. But it'd been ages since she saw any  _living thing_ on that balcony, and she craved for an interaction more than she thought she would.

Besides, there was nothing wrong with wishing for a miracle too.

"Hey." Aoko said in a loud voice, but just enough not to scare the pigeon away.

It looked at her briefly, cocked its head, and looked away again.

"Here to visit your papa?" She asked, whistling. "He's not here, you know."

The pigeon didn't bother to give her a glance anymore.

"Don't believe me, huh?" Aoko huffed. "Are you throwing a tantrum and ignoring me?"

Silence was its best answer.

Aoko chuckled, shaking her head. "Say," she said, leaning heavily against her railings as she stared into the distant. "Do you... miss him? Your papa."

The pigeon cooed.

She turned, and surprise hit her to another level when she realized it was looking at her. Her lips curled up, but weirdly, she didn't exactly feel happy.

It felt a little bittersweet.

"You're not alone." Aoko sighed. "I... I think I miss him too."

The sound of the drills suddenly shrill in the air, the construction started again after the workers probably finished their ten minutes break or so. Aoko was a little more immune to these noises, but the pigeon obviously wasn't. It flapped its wings from the shock and flew away, never once looked back as it disappeared into the sunset, along with the words of Aoko's confession.

Gone.

 

* * *

 

A week had passed after the construction was finished and Aoko's grand peace had returned, including the one that Kaito stolen away from her since the day he moved in.

He never returned or came by to check on his home. Jii was the one responsible for that during the construction period, and whenever Aoko saw him, she was tempted to ask about Kaito. But in the end she never did, and Jii never tell her too. It wasn't because of wanting to keep her pride. She was more than half sure Kaito didn't want Jii to tell her anything, and if she asked, it was the matter of his privacy at stake, not her pride. If him keeping everything a secret was what he wanted, she supposed she should respect it.

It just sucked that this made her feel disappointed as well.

Aoko was up early today even though she slept in late last night. She rolled off her bed and dragged her feet to the balcony, doing what she always did every morning even though so many things had changed. The weather seemed great, judging from her bedroom window. She was expecting a good view of the fluffy clouds and the busy park below, which would definitely help to perk her mood. But when she stepped onto her balcony, hand under her shirt while rubbing her belly, what she didn't expect was a  _man_  standing in front of her.

They both widened their eyes in sync.

Aoko was the first one to react as she screamed, just as loud as the first time she met the  _man_ face to face. All that was needed was a door to slam his foot, and it'd just be the exact same scenario all over again.

"Ow." Kaito cringed and rubbed his ears. "It's too early in the morning for an opera-singing session, you crazy woman."

"You're the crazy one!" She yelled and pointed accusingly at him. "Standing here on  _my_  balcony and scaring the hell out of me!"

His exaggerated-agonised face faltered to a smirk. "Ok, fine. Let's try this again," he cleared his throat. "Good morning, I didn't expect you to be up so early."

Suddenly aware of her appearance, she pulled the collar of her oversized T-shirt up her neck, as if that would  _totally_ deter the fact that she was  _missing_  her bra. "Before we start, I need to get changed first."

She was surprised he didn't tease her and only nodded as a reply. It was just a month since she last saw him but the change of his behaviour felt drastic, and she wasn't sure if the unusual solemnity in the air had to do with this odd feeling too. Temporarily ignoring it, she dashed out of her balcony and to her bedroom before slamming it behind her to do what she needed to do.

When she came out of room with fresh clothes _and_ a bra, Kaito had left her balcony and entered her living room, but he wasn't sitting on her sofa like what she thought he would—He was standing close to her balcony door, arms crossed and isolating himself away from her furniture.

Instinctively, the gear in her writing-obsessed head began to move. She always loved describing things and people she saw like how she described her characters in her books; from the big picture down to the minute details such as the quirk of their lips and even the tightness of the arms around their chest. Her hobby of describing them was so she could picture and understand them more clearly in the head.

_He is… He is…_

But no matter how hard Aoko tried, it was pointless. Seeing Kaito standing there made her mind as blank as those earlier days of her writing drafts. Part of her brain was trying to save energy, maybe, because she knew no matter how she tried to describe him in her head, she could never understand him anyway, and it was a fact that she'd been trying not to face.

_He is just Kaito._

Mirroring his demeanour, she crossed her arms. "So, what are you doing here?"

She regretted her question the second it left her mouth. Every day she would replay the night of the fire in the head; that feeling of the photo frame in her hand and the sharp gaze Kaito had on her. But even so, despite all the could-have-beens she had imagined, nothing was able to prepare her to continue their last conversation that didn't have an end. She wasn't ready for that.

Her heart wasn't ready.

"I just wanted to leave some things." He answered.

Aoko blinked. She was glad it wasn't what she dreaded, but she was still confused. "Leave some things?"

Gesturing his head to her coffee table, Aoko glanced over and noticed a bag on it. She trudged forward and tried to take a peek inside. There were a couple of things, and she took them all out. First was a plate, then a spoon, a pink tray, and finally a mug.

It was the set of tableware she lent him many,  _many_  months ago.

"I-I thought they were…?"

"These are new ones; yours were all destroyed in the… fire." If one could sigh and speak at the same time, Kaito definitely did it for the last word. "I tried to find the same designs, and I guessed I succeeded since you didn't notice until I tell you."

Aoko really couldn't tell, or more like she couldn't remember the exact designs anymore. But it was still familiar, like the flower patterns of the plate and the tiny dolphin logo on the handle of the spoon. And that said, for the borrower to remember the details better than the owner, she was surprised, especially when the borrower never once showed concern over such insignificant things.

"Thank you for lending them to me." Kaito said.

She scoffed. "I thought you wanted them as a gift."

"I don't need them anymore."

She spent the last two seconds trying to digest his words, but her heart was the one aching from the poison instead.  _Words are dangerous and powerful weapons_ , and Aoko truly understood what it meant now.

The abrupt odd silence caused something to change in Kaito's expressions, as if he realized what the effect of his words had on her, but she cut in before he could take them back.

"Does that mean you're leaving?" She asked.

He opened his mouth a few time, and closed them again.

She helped him speak what was on his mind. "You're returning these things to me because you don't need them in your temporary home anymore, right? In other words, you're leaving for good."

His face was blank at first, but a small smile slowly spread across his cheeks, and it was so unfair, because that was all he needed to do to bring back all the memories they shared; those curry-eating sessions and long night talks under the stars.

But despite what Aoko thought were happy moments, his eyes were sad.

"Yeah." He slowly nodded. "I've stayed here far longer than I expected, and far longer than I should."

"Then where are you going?"

He stared out of balcony, his eyes growing distant. "A little further south from here."

Aoko had no idea if he was serious or joking, but either way nothing gave her the mood to laugh. She narrowed her eyes, giving up on pursuing for an answer and moved on. "You said your stay here is recreational. It's always been more than that, right?"

"Perhaps."

"And that's it?"

Kaito tilted his head to her. "What?"

"Why aren't you saying your usual catch phrases?  _'Oh, I bet you can't bear to leave me.'_  and also your favourite,  _'Are you in love with me?'_. Don't you always tease me with those stupid things? Why aren't you saying them now?"

 _Something_  flickered past his face, but other than that, he stayed silent.

"Guess what?" She continued, her throat slowly twisting to a painful, sour knot. "You got them right. You got them _all_ right. Aren't you happy now? I was once so used to having the balcony all to myself, enjoying the tranquillity and my thoughts uninterrupted. But now I couldn't stand there for a minute without hoping that you'd pop in and give that stupid grin. And it makes me sick to think that you're not going to be here anymore."

His lips parted. "Aoko-"

"It's all your fault."

Looking away, he stared at the tableware. "I never wanted to hurt you." He said softly

"You already did when you left without a goodbye." She blurted it out without realizing what she said.

Kaito mulled over her words for a while, his brows creased as he did. Finally, he closed his eyes. "If it's a goodbye you want, I can give it to you."

She looked at him in disbelief. There was no trace of emotions found on his face, but when he opened his eyes, Aoko was sure he wasn't joking at all. It was that moment when she badly wanted to tell him she didn't need that  _goodbye_  anymore, but her throat trapped her words inside, unable to speak.

Instead, she begged him with her eyes.

_Don't you dare-_

"Goodbye." He whispered.

Cruelly (oh so cruel indeed), he turned and left for her door. The sound of it closing made Aoko's legs give way as she slumped onto the floor and cried into her hands for the next half-an-hour.

She should know it much better than anyone else, that no matter how badly one wishes for it, a story doesn't always get to end with a happily ever after all.

 

* * *

 

"Now that we have dates ready, everything is good to go!" Sakura, Aoko's publisher in charge, smiled as she briefly went through her scribbled-filled page of her notebook with satisfaction. Aoko thought the page was blank at the start of the meeting, which happened less than an hour ago, but now she could barely see any white space on the book.

"I can't wait for it be released." Ozawa grinned, nudging Aoko in the shoulder and gave a wink. "This might be the best book yet."

"I can't wait too." Aoko nodded and tried to give an equally enthusiastic smile back. It might be easier if her eyes weren't puffy and swollen from the past few weeks of insomniac nights.

"Oh, and one last important thing before we go grab some lunch together." Sakura turned toward Aoko. "Do you have anything for the dedication page? I didn't see it along with the manuscript." She then looked at Ozawa for confirmation. "Or did I miss it out?"

"I didn't receive any." Ozawa shook his head, glancing at Aoko. "I wanted to ask you too."

Right, Aoko had completely forgotten about that. In the past she was always excited about it—wanting to thank so many people in her life for helping her through the journey in publishing the book. Her dad, all her friends, Ozawa (especially), and even one of her neighbours that lived a few floors below because she was just so friendly.

Now she wasn't sure who to thank, or rather,  _how_  to thank, when the person was already gone-

Screw that. She would do it for herself. Not a dedication but a message. Her self-delusional comfort, if she had to admit.

"Yeah. I have something to write."

"That's great!" Sakura pushed her notebook and pen to Aoko.

Finding whatever space available, she wrote her words down:

_I hope you liked the curry._

 

* * *

 

"How did the book interview go?"

Aoko turned after the door of the interview room closed. She watched Keiko skipping towards her, her signature pigtail doing its own little bounces too.

It was tiring, really, but seeing how Keiko sat outside the interview room just to wait for her, Aoko didn't find any rights to complain. Her mood did lighten up after seeing her friend anyway. "The same few questions." Aoko said. " _What's your inspiration for the newest book_ …  _What is the writing process like_ , etcetera."

"And what did you say?"

"Like always, I answered the same thing."

Keiko reacted as if someone just told her the moon was made out of cheese. "No way! I thought it should be a different answer this time!"

"There's nothing different-"

"It's about Reo!" Keiko chimed, whipping out the book she'd been hiding behind her back.

"What- I didn't know you brought the book along!"

"Duh! I'm re-reading it the second time and it's still so good."

Aoko blushed, walking away. "Please don't say that aloud."

"Why not?" Keiko caught up to her strides pretty fast. "I _love_  them!"

"You said that two days ago."

"Because I think you haven't heard it enough. Anyway, while you were inside being interviewed, I came up with some interview questions of my own for you." Keiko exclaimed as she flipped to a page where she left a dog-ear and jammed her finger into the paper, so hard Aoko thought she wanted to drill a hole through it. "Do you remember this paragraph where you described Reo's arms in details? I didn't know you have a fetish for it."

Aoko ignored the last comment. "Oh, I remember this page."

Keiko grinned. "So, what's the writing process like?"

"I spent half an hour looking through the thesaurus just to find another word for  _firm_." It was the truth though, and seeing how Keiko's face suddenly fell, Aoko almost wanted to laugh. Almost.

" _Right_ , anyway look at this too." Keiko began flipping through the pages again, until she reached one with a sticky note coloured in bright, hot pink. "I love this part of the book the most; where Reo's past is revealed. This is the most heart-breaking chapter I've ever read."

"I like that chapter as well." This was something she wasn't afraid to admit, no matter how blatant people would think. She did spend most of her time editing it, over, and over, and over again.

"I bet you do." Keiko pushed her spectacles up her nose. They stopped before the elevator, waiting for the lift. "Is Reo going to appear in the next book?" She asked.

Keiko wasn't the first, and Aoko was sure she wouldn't be the last to ask this either. She swallowed the sigh she was tempted to let out and simply shrugged. "I'll see. And  _by the way,_ don't bother Ozawa about this question, okay?"

"Umm-hmm I know. But just to satisfy my other curiosity, at least tell me since when are you so good at writing romantic tension?"

Aoko widened her eyes. Well, this question was a first. "...What romantic tension?"

"Uh, what do you mean  _what romantic tension_? You wrote the book."

"You know better than I do that I suck at romance."

"Sucked at writing  _your_ own. But between Reo and Akira—their build up—it's marvellous. Spectacular. Wonderful." Keiko kissed the cover of the book, her eyes glinted like she was about to execute her plan of world domination.

Aoko laughed. "You're pretty good at synonyms."

"A habit I learnt from you." Keiko grinned before she suddenly turned serious. "So, the real question: Where did you get the inspiration from?"

"Give some credit to my imagination, will you?"

Keiko snickered. "Oh, and not because of your neighbour?"

Aoko smiled, more for the fact she was proud her chest didn't cringe as much compared in the past. "I think you need a career change. You'll be great as an interviewer. No, an interrogator instead. Your probing skills are  _amazing_."

"Well, don't you say. And you're avoiding my question."

"Hmm, this lift is taking so long." Aoko glanced at her phone and saw a reminder message buzzing in. "I have another interview in half an hour."

"Hello? I can totally tell that you're  _still_  avoiding my question, but fine, I'll stop the teases and leave them for tonight." Keiko said and fished out the car keys from her bag. "Anyway, don't worry. I'll just have to drive a bit faster-"

"Crap, did I forget to tell you? The broadcasting company is coming to fetch me." Aoko tugged on one of Keiko's arm guilty. "...I made you wait for nothing."

"To be fair, I rather you forget about that than forgetting I'm your friend, now that you're famous." Keiko chuckled, kiddingly patting Aoko's arm.

"You know I'll never." Aoko scoffed. "But anyway, thanks for driving me here for this interview even though it was a last minute request. You're the best."

"Best is me." Keiko smirked and checked her watch. "I guess I can go and buy some stuff to prepare for the party later."

Aoko chortled. "You have my apartment's key, right?"

"Always."

The lift came right on time.

They parted ways at the lobby; Keiko went off while Aoko waited at the entrance for her ride. There was still some time to clear her thoughts for a while before she had to strain her cheeks and talk about things she'd repeated over and over for the whole day.

There was like a fine line between fiction and reality, and Aoko knew better to never put anyone related to her real life into any of her stories, because the most terrible thing that could happen was not knowing the difference between them. But even when she knew, it still happened. Her rolling of eyes and sarcastic comments towards Kaito backfired, because his  _Are you gonna write about me?_ ended up becoming a huge slap of fact in her face.

Maybe it wasn't intentional, or maybe it wasn't even related, but whenever she read a sentence with Reo's name, an image of Kaito would pop in her mind. 

Even if everything thought the book was perfect, she felt like it was just a mess; she wasn't sure if her original intention of writing the good in the bad was ever met. All she knew was she wrote to her heart's will; To fill the empty hole within.

But it didn't really work. Until now, pathetically, it never work. The hole was bottomless after all.

An end that doesn't have an end.

 

* * *

 

Knowing her friend's and the similar party patterns over the years, Aoko expected a couple of balloons and colourful streamers hanging on her walls, but what she didn't expect when she came home was the surprising mix of yellow and red that suddenly burst into her vision, fading all other colours to a null. She blinked, and blinked a couple of times, before realizing what she saw of those colours were sunflowers and roses.

"Welcome back!" Keiko, Sayaka and Emi chimed in sync.

"I- Wow, thank you." Aoko mumbled, taking the bouquet from Keiko's hand before the trio skipped away for Aoko to enter. She stood by her door for a while, admiring it as long as she could.

In simpler terms, the bouquet was  _gorgeous_. Scented white wrapping paper around roses and sunflowers, it was a combination Aoko never imagined, yet she wondered why she hadn't. She caressed the petals tenderly, smiling as she took a whiff of the freshness. Besides the beauty, it did feel a little different when the flowers were meant for you rather than... a second-hand gift.

Ha.

"These are really beautiful." Aoko said as she entered the living room. She tried not to get distracted by the awesome and great-smelling food on her dining table and focused on her topic. "Where did you buy it?"

"It's not from us though." Emi said whilst preparing the utensils. "We found it outside your door."

Aoko blinked. "Huh?"

Keiko chuckled, wiggling her eyebrows at the others. "Maybe we should have claimed the credit since she looked so happy to receive them, but no, it's not from us."

" _These_  are from us though." Sayaka gestured over the food, grinning.

"Of course I love them too. Inside my tummy especially." Aoko laughed and stared at the bouquet, half-admiring, half-attempting to guess again. "Maybe it's from Ozawa."

"He's more of a straightforward type than secretly leaving a bouquet outside your door." Keiko scoffed before her face lit up in anticipation. "Could it be your admirer? A fan?"

Aoko shook her head. "They wouldn't know I live here." But just to confirm, she brushed her hand past the petals, trying to find a letter or even a name card. There was none.

"Then who else knows you live here?" Emi asked.

The number would definitely be lesser than the number of her fingers. And inwardly, she began ticking the people she knew it couldn't be off the list, leaving only-

It couldn't be, could it?

"Anyway, let's settle down and dig in! I'm famished and I bet you are too, being outside for the whole day." Keiko grabbed the bouquet and Aoko's bag and set them on the kitchen counter. "We'll play detective games and guess who gave you the flowers later."

Aoko put up a smile and decided to focus her attention on the food and ignore the flowers for now, just so they could forget as well. For the sake of her heart, she rather not guess who the person could be.

After settling around her dining table, Aoko cleared her throat. "Thank you all again, really." She looked over the heartfelt preparation meal and sighed heavenly. "I can never go this far without you guys."

"Aww, is this going to be a touching speech?" Sayaka giggled.

"Of course." Emi winked. "She's the main star, and the star has to say something."

"No, this party isn't about me. This party is for us—Even though I didn't do anything for the preparation." They all laughed and Aoko continued. "I want to celebrate that we're always together no matter what. So here's a toast! To the best of our lives!" Aoko grabbed a glass of yellow liquid on the table (she wasn't sure what the content was) and raised it in the air

" _Greater_  love life!" Sayaka exclaimed.

"Reduce global warming!" Emi chimed.

"All of the above!" Keiko added.

After their glasses clinked together, Aoko chugged down her drink, and she realized it was beer as the liquid stung her throat with every gulp. She continued anyway.

 _"Instead of nice beer or sake, I guess orange juice can be_ our _thing."_

_"No thanks."_

_"So you'd prefer beer and sake?"_

_"None."_

True to this day, Aoko still preferred orange juice over beer. But if this was what she needed to take her mind off all the things she didn't want to think about for now, she'd be glad to drown herself in it.

 

* * *

 

Aoko kept the bouquet in the vase and placed it on her bedside table. It fitted well.

The flowers accompanied her to sleep, and for the first time in a long while, she didn't wake up in the middle of the night, wondering if she'd lost a piece of herself somewhere.

Or to someone.

 

* * *

 

It was all over the news for the whole damn week.

No, it wasn't about her lovely (and tedious and totally tiring) interviews that were once popularly circulated, or how the media was starting to emphasize that women can write crime and action just as good or better than men writers. It was a pity that none of these things were  _over the news for the whole damn week_ , but Aoko knew that was too much to expect anyway.

What caused the uproar on a  _country scale_  was the revival of Kaitou Kid.

For Aoko's sake, Ozawa wasn't entirely happy, but the publishing team didn't mind since the sales wasn't affected or different from what the marketing team envisioned. On the surface, Aoko thought she should at least show her displeasure that her hard work over the past year lasted barely a week because the thief had stolen all her limelight away (that was what Ozawa thought she should feel), but deep down, she secretly didn't mind. In fact, though a little stupid, it was indirectly thanks to that that she got to talk and see her father a bit more than usual.

Finding more time in her schedule than before, Aoko delivered a handmade dinner bento to her father's office for the third time that week, just because she knew he wouldn't care for anything else—not even his stomach and health—besides cracking what Kid was scheming. She went back home afterwards, took a bath and made her own dinner before reliving her remaining hours of the night on her couch, with her laptop opened but neglected beside her (because she was a little lazy to read her emails), while the TV was on and broadcasting the  _same_  news again.

Kaitou Kid.

Aoko had lots of conflicting emotion towards the name before, but after so many years had passed, it would be embarrassing if she wasn't numbed towards his name. Not fully yet, but the feeling she had then and now was definitely different. The annoyance for his attention-seeking measures remained the same, but what made it the most different was her relief, that after so many years, he was still alive.

Her father might not have said it, but she knew he felt exactly the same too.

Once she thought about her father, she got reminded of her own promise to check on him and went to get her phone in her room to make the call.

"Have you finished your dinner?" Aoko asked, her phone stuck in between her cheek and shoulder as she slumped back on her sofa seat again.

_"Yeah, right before you called."_

"Good." Aoko said, her eyes staring blankly at the news reporter's stern face as he was talking about the letter Kaitou Kid sent to the police. "Don't strain yourself. Remember that bad fall you got?"

_"You said that about ten times. And you know I'm not working alone."_

Aoko nodded, relief at the thought again. "I didn't manage to stay long to greet them properly, but Takao-san and Junpei-san sure hasn't change; they look the same as they were in the old Task Force. Quite a reunion, huh?"

 _"Looks doesn't matter when age counts. The higher-ups still insist on getting younger people of course. New always beats the old."_ Her father grumbled, adding an irritated sigh.  _"Kudo Shinichi and the son of the Superintendent General Hakuba are joining the 'reunion'."_

So not only the thief but  _even_  the son of the Superintendent General Hakuba had too much free time on their hand,  _huh_. Aoko shook her head. "The son?"

_"Hakuba Saguru, that's him."_

It took a while for Aoko to process, but once the words registered to what her memories were replaying—the cold, white and quiet hospital corridors—she gasped, back straightened on her couch like a bamboo stick. "Wait wait, dad! Did you say  _Hakuba Saguru_?"

She could imagine his frown when he spoke. _"Yeah. What's wrong?"_

"Nothing." Aoko managed a short laugh. "I-I just find his name familiar."

_"That's not surprising when you'd gone to the police academy before; His name always floats around. He's now with the Interpol though."_

If only that's the case.

Twisting away from her TV, Aoko began typing his name in the google search on her laptop. News articles and pictures popped out within seconds as she scrolled through her computer, and by the bottom of the page she'd seen almost every angle of Hakuba Saguru's face. Blonde, like what Aoko expected, refined and all-smiles, like what the son of a high-ranking officer would show to the public. But nothing about his demeanour looked like what Aoko imagined Kaito's acquaintance would be, much less a friend. And like what her father said, he was from the Interpol too-

Wait...? Someone from the police, like Shinichi?

_What are the chances?_

It might be easier to ask than sieve through all those fake gossips and entertainment news. "Just a question… Is Hakuba Saguru married?"

There was a loud cough.  _"Are you interested in that punk?"_

"No!" She exclaimed. "I just- I think I know him. Or rather his wife, sort of."

_"He's married, unless the ring on his finger is some kind of Britain fashion statement."_

Aoko cleared her throat. "You said Kudo-kun is joining as well?"

_"Yeah, even when I have so much trouble on hand now."_

"Why? Kudo-kun will be a great help."

 _"Great. Great at attracting murder, that is."_ Her father scoffed.

Aoko bit her lips to hold back her laugher. "You won't allow that to happen, right Dad?"

_"Of course."_

The confident tone made Aoko smile. It was like back in the days, when all she needed to do was to believe in him.

 _"Anyway, I need to go for a meeting. I'll talk to you later."_ As usual, her father cut the call before she could say her goodbye.

Endless questions were still ringing in Aoko's head, and what she couldn't get the most was the link between a homicide detective, an agent from Interpol, and their odd interest towards a thief like Kaitou Kid. Maybe there was another point where both ends would meet, something  _else_  they had in common that-

A thought suddenly sprang into Aoko's head as she straightened in alarm.

_Kuroba Kaito?_

It was Shinichi who told Kaito that Hakuba was admitted into the hospital, so the two must be acquaintance before that point already… And Kaito, being the point between these two...

Aoko shook her head vigorously. It was impossible. He couldn't be part of this when he was just a retired, stupid man who treated his stay here as  _recreational_ -

No, stop.  _Stop thinking and relating everything about him already._

Tossing her phone to a side, Aoko plopped her computer on her lap as she began her own digging and research, allowing the sound of the TV to drift into the background of her noisy thoughts.

 

* * *

 

A few days later, the flowers in her bedroom wilted.

 

* * *

 

  
It was a blur for seven years old Aoko to know between what was really good and bad, but the seven years old Aoko back then definitely knew her father worked hard as a great police officer; he strived to catch bad guys and save the good guys from harm. Rather than watching the news or read the papers because she wouldn't understand either way, Aoko's mother shared more of the stories about what dad and his colleagues did for the country.

Kaitou Kid, the name she heard almost every single day, more than her own, actually.

She didn't know what the word  _heist_ meant back then. She didn't know it was a thing you could go even though her father always talked about it, until when her mother brought her along to one because her father received free entries to an expensive theatrical performance about some Greek Goddess. It was boring, and Aoko wanted to leave the entire time, until when a man in white suddenly swung across the theatre hall with some kind of wire before he landed gracefully on the stage, his cape settling on his back like folded white wings, same as one of the angel in the play, but cooler.

His appearance was the highlight of Aoko's night.

 _"Who is he?"_ Aoko asked her mother excitedly.

 _"Kaitou Kid."_ Her mother told her as the police began running after Kaitou Kid around the hall, but they only looked like foolish dogs chasing their own tail. Aoko spotted her father amongst them.

 _"Kaitou Kid?"_ Aoko asked, her voice shaky.  _"The bad guy dad wants to catch?"_

Knowing that she was afraid, her mother squeezed her tiny hand with a smile.  _"Yes. He's that thief."_

There were so many things in the world one could steal. Money? Chocolates? Puppies? But back then Aoko remembered she didn't ask what Kaitou Kid had stolen that night, or the other nights of his existence. Because only one thing popped in her head, and she thought it was the answer; Kaitou Kid stolen her father.

He was a bad guy, and she drilled that thought into her mind.

"Kaitou Kid! It's him!"

"He's here!"

As her distant, childhood memory faded away, Aoko could hear the cheers around her more distinctively. She blinked a few times, trying to make some sense of her loud surrounding before glancing up at the building in front, where the crowd around her were pointing their fingers at.

Kaitou Kid had arrived right on time as he stood on the edge of the roof and looking down over them.

It didn't take two seconds of contemplation before Aoko decided to visit the museum, where the thief promised to steal the  _Red Eye of the Moon_ that night, and here she was, being one of the few in the crowd that wasn't holding their phones in anticipation or carrying a signboard to say how great a thief could be.

Solely hearing his name was one thing and seeing him in person was another. Aoko wasn't prepared for the possible emotions she would feel on site, what's more when the memories of her mother were involved. But when she saw him again; White wings, gloved hands out and magic in the air, she felt nothing—not even that little annoyance she always thought of him. What overwhelmed her instead as she stood there, watching him LIVE rather than the replays of his old heists, was a strong wave of nostalgia, and even as far as a sense of familiarity too.

Familiarity? The strangest thing she could ever feel.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for coming!" Kaitou Kid said, his cape fluttering along with the wind. He was so white against the black sky that even from here she could see the tiny tip of his shoes over the edge of the roof.

The crowd cheered, and many began to use their phones to record and capture the so-called iconic moment. Memories over pictures, Aoko thought, and she burnt that image of the very pleased Kid into her mind.

"I hope you'll enjoy my last, grand show I'm going to perform for all of you." He continued.

Aoko widened her eyes.

_Last?_

It seemed she wasn't delusional or the only one hearing the wrong thing. Everyone around her began muttering among each other, repeating Kid's words like it was their prayers.

"That's right." Kid echoed, clarifying everyone's doubt. "This will be the end of everything."

Aoko slammed her hand over her ears, trying to subdue the increasing loud screams around her.

 _Who the hell does he think he is?! Coming and going whenever he likes, as if he owned this damn world!_  Aoko clicked her tongue. This was ridiculous.

She saw him raised his hands and dropped something what seemed like smoke bombs, and just like that, Kid disappeared in a puff. Light beams coming from the helicopters above circled frantically around the roof and even onto the crowd, almost like a crazy disco party.

Public wasn't allowed access into the museum (even when you are the daughter of the Inspector in charge), but the glass panes helped, to show the police's frenzy panic as they were running across all the floors.

On the highest level, Aoko thought she saw a blonde.

All of the sudden, all the floors turned black.

The crowd began squealing in excitement, taking out their phones again to take photos. Aoko didn't get it. All their pictures would just be a blackout museum. Was that so fancy? It was getting intolerable, standing in this humidity and having to hold in her frustrated sighs...

Close to a few minute later, the museum's light turned back on. There wasn't any sign of Kid. And the blonde she thought she saw was gone too.

Shaking her head, Aoko began squeezing herself out of the crowd. Screw his last _show_. She'd rather watch it on the TV than suffer anymore.

The road where she took a cab down was now blocked with barricades by the police, and the only way to get to the main street was to walk the long route around the museum, which she decided to do without much choice. It was quiet and dim, not much going on when the main attraction was in front of the museum. She stuck close to the building, passing the brick wall and a few fire escape doors. The night breeze was getting stronger, and Aoko clutched her bag tightly to her side, enough for comfort-

That comfort didn't last long when a fire escape door—which was just nearly an arm away from her—flung open, and a figure stepped out into the night air in heaves. The door, however, was blocking the view of the person.

Aoko's mind was blank from the shock, but the first thing that hit her was the sudden strong smell of gunpowder, and then once the figure came to her view from behind the door, she saw white.

White hat, white suit and-

Kid. Kaitou Kid.

His gloved finger was hooking on the knot of his red tie like he wanted to tug it off, but he froze once he turned and saw her, his lips growing apart. The door behind him slowly creaked to a close, and the following _clack!_  sound indicated the door was lock from the inside.

Her throat only managed a  _"Kaitou-!"_  before he broke into a run, his cape flapping behind his back as he dashed down the streets. Aoko yelled again, to realize no one around here was near to hear it, and decided to take matters into her own hand. Rummaging through her bag, she tried to find her phone while chasing down Kid. He was way too fast, but his white appearance helped to keep her mind focus. As long as she had a goal, she'd achieve it.

He turned into an alley.

Aoko slowed down, hand clutching onto the phone she found as she turned into the alley too. Right at the other side was a dead end—a brick wall blocking whatever from passing through—but Kid was nowhere to be found. She took a few steps forward and glanced around, trying to search for something white, but everything was dark and shadowy.

She shifted her foot, weighing it front and then back again. She wasn't sure if she should take the risk and walk further in. It could be possible that he purposely lured her here, and the thought made her shiver. On the cue, a breeze—or rather a movement of something—brushed against her back.

The next thing that came was a whisper.

"Good evening."

Her heart nearly exploded. Aoko whirled around, and right behind her was Kaitou Kid.

"Y-You!"

"Are you alright, Nakamori-san? Sorry that I made you ran."

"Wait-" She gasped. "How do you know who I am!"

"Given your lovely appearance, it's impossible to not know." Barely visible under the shadow of his hat, he smiled. "It's a pleasure meeting you."

"To hell with that." Aoko hissed and unlocked her phone. Right before she pressed the speed dial to call her father, Kid swung his arm, slapping the phone away from her hand. She yelped, watching her phone somersaulting into the air and further inside the dark alley. There was a loud thud a second later, the sound coming from a few garbage bags that was leaning against the wall.

"How- How dare you!" Aoko exclaimed, panting at the aftermath of her outburst.

"For my interest, I'll have to stop you." Kid stared unapologetically at his deed before looking at Aoko. "Please forgive me."

Aoko glared. "For your  _interest_? Then what about the interest of the Police? Or the public? Or the owner of the gem you've stolen?"

"That, I'll have to admit, is something I don't care at the moment." Kid emphasized by giving a shrug. "But I'm sure there's not much harm done. Furthermore, this is my last heist-"

"It doesn't disregard the fact that you've stolen so many things in the past."

Kid paused. "...You're right. I'm afraid not."

There was something chilly about his voice, and Aoko shivered. Of course, Kid noticed, as he tilted his head, his serious demeanour instantly changed into a curious one.

"Are you scared of me?" He asked.

Aoko refused to admit to him that she might be, just a tiny, little bit. But besides that, what was he expecting her to be? Happy, elated? "Am I supposed to be hugging you and crying about how I'm your number one fan instead?" She snarled.

He shrugged under his heavy suit. "I believe that's what most people would do."

"Is this the part where I'm supposed to say:  _I'm not like most people?_ "

Kid smirked. "Indeed, you're not like most people I know."

She could literally feel her face turning hot from the mix of embarrassment and frustration. "I want to punch you."

"And you've perfectly convinced me." He chuckled. Before Aoko could argue, he snapped his finger and a rose popped out in his hand as he tilted it to her face. "For your boldness and bravery, here's a little gift from me."

Aoko scowled. "Are you trying to bribe me?"

Kid twirled with the stalk. "Yes."

"I still can scream-"

In a blink, Kid pressed a gloved hand over her mouth, instantly shutting her up even before she actually considered her own suggestion. He leaned in, but his hat had shadowed his face, and the monocle on his eye was almost opaque from the lack of light around them; nothing gave her the advantage to get a better look at his face. And if that was the case, the lack of distance between them was _very_ unappreciated.

She could bite his hand to move it away, but the abrupt, loud and continuous sirens that followed got her attention more. With the best she could, she tilted her head towards the street and watched tons of police cars and bikes zooming past at the speed of light. No need for a brain cell to know the numbers got to be more than just the two standby cars she saw outside the museum a while ago.

_What the hell happened?_

She didn't realize she was holding her breath until Kid let out a sigh and dropped his arm, stepping back.

"It seems that I have to go. A pity that I'm unable to stay long."

"No pity for that." Aoko scoffed, wiping her mouth and the prickling sensation that Kid left on her skin. "What did you do to lure them away?"

"I didn't." He glanced at the road. "They just got a bigger fish to catch."

Aoko frowned. "What?"

"You might want to set an alarm for the news tonight-" Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly gasped. "Right! I just remembered your phone is somewhere… there."

The reminder made Aoko fume again. She pushed him away and took a step into the alley, but it was a little too late to realize it was all a distraction of his. Growling, Aoko turned, finding the spot where Kid stood a second ago empty like she expected.

He was gone like a ghost.

As she put her focus on getting her phone back, she sensed something prickly above her right ear. She thought it was a bug, or maybe some parts of her hair got messed up, and she reached a hand out to brush it away. But what she found instead was the stalk of red rose she didn't accept when Kid gave to her a while ago.

 

* * *

 

Her phone was in one piece, thankfully (lying right on top of a garbage bag) and she immediately went home after, just to get away from the damn place as fast as possible. The street didn't look safe anymore, and everywhere nearby was filled with faint sirens; it made her heart raced uncomfortably.

The stalk of rose she used for company didn't help to bring that much of a comfort.

Aoko tried calling her father a few times on her way home, but he didn't pick up the phone, not that she expected him to, and by the fifth ring on the fourth call, she knew it was pointless and cut the line as she slotted the key into the door of her apartment.

After she dumped all of her belongings on the coffee table, she slumped onto her sofa and picked up the remote to turn the TV on. The first thing that appeared on the screen was a video of the heist outside the museum, but the camera was shaky. Aoko turned the volume up, but all she heard were screams coming from the crowd.

The screams, though, didn't sound excited or happy. It was made of terror.

Before she tried to squint her eyes to see what the camera was trying to focus, it cut back to the news reporter as he began detailing the incident.

_"The gang of armed men, which has been confirmed to be related to the terrorist organization group that was brought down a year ago, has now been arrested. The motive of their failed bomb attack remains unknown as investigation continues."_

"What… the hell?" Aoko gaped, her hand trembling as she dropped the remote onto her sofa.

 _"Currently, the retired Kaitou Kid and the_ Red Eye of the Moon _are nowhere to be found, More updates will be coming up. After the break, we'll have Toshirou Satoshi, an astronomer, with us to talk about_ The Volley Comet  _that is predicted to appear in two days' time-"_

Aoko couldn't take it anymore. She switched off the television, letting her mind rest from the headache that was about to come.

This was absurd. How the hell did a heist become a terrorist attack? Was this the reason why Hakuba Saguru and Kudo Shinichi were involved? And was Kid part of this? Was Kid  _part_  of the terrorist attack?

_"What did you do to lure them away?"_

_"I didn't. They just got a bigger fish to catch."_

Something squeezed in her chest, something hot that dripped down to her stomach and mixed with her acidic dread, giving fear a new flavour of its own. Just when she was about to close her eyes and sleep on the couch, to forget everything that ever happened in her life, her phone rang, jolting her up. It was her father.

She picked up by the second ring.

 _"Sorry."_  He said, and then there was a muffled pause before he was back to the receiver again.  _"I'm going to be busy for the next few days, probably even a week. This is the only time I can spare to return a call."_

"It's alright." Aoko sighed, the weight of her shoulders slightly lessened a bit. "I'm just glad you're fine after all that." She glanced at her blank TV screen.

_"...You know?"_

Aoko blinked. Was she supposed to know something? It wasn't the first time something happened to her father during his work, and this tone was suspiciously similar when he was trying to hide that fact.

"Of course I know." She lied. It was the only way to get him to admit it.

 _"Takao that idiot. Already told him not to tell you."_ He clicked his tongue.  _I'm really fine. I was pushed away in time before the gunshot hit me-"_

Aoko flung up from her seat. "What?! What did you just say?! You almost got shot?!"

_"...I thought you said you knew."_

"And if I don't, then you wouldn't tell me? I'm your daughter, for goodness sake."

He sighed. _"I'm really fine-"_

"Was it Kid?"

_"What?"_

She felt her throat tightened even just by thinking of her words. "Is Kid… part of that terrorist group?"

 _"Aoko,"_ he paused. _"Kid's the one who knocked me out of the way; he saved me."_

The silence was what she needed to let the words sink it.

There was someone speaking to her father in the background, and he made a gruff-policeman voice before he returned to the call.  _"Ok, I got to go. Things are getting busy now. Goodnight."_

He hung up the call before she could say it back.

Tossing her phone aside, she twiddled with the rose she brought back as her feet moved to the balcony. Maybe her sub-consciousness got attracted to the night sky, or the balcony was the only place that made her feel safe, even if her head was beyond confused and messed up. Either way, she just needed her tranquillity right now.

Settling her heavy arms on the railings, Aoko sighed into the night.

"Hey."

The rose almost fell out of her grasp as Aoko yelped, her body jumped in shock. She spun her head to the voice.

There, standing on the once-empty balcony, was Kaito, his arms crossed over the railings while he looked back at Aoko lazily.

"Took you long enough before you noticed me." He said, grinning.

 _That smile… Is this a hallucination?_ Aoko rubbed her eyes, but the image remained the same.

She rubbed again.

Kaito was still there.

He quirked an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." She spat, "I just..."

"Couldn't believe I'm here?"

Aoko turned away, twirling with the rose in her hand. She'd been so sure she would never see him again, but now that the impossible came true, her ribs began to ache from all the beating her heart was doing. She twirled the rose even harder, trying to suppress her memory from playing their last conversation they had too, until one of the thorns accidentally poked her finger. Clicking her tongue, she watched the skin under her nail turning slightly red.

It was a temporary, good measure to calm her heart down, at least.

"Who gave you that rose?" Kaito spoke, breaking the silence.

She lowered the hand to her side, covering the flower from his view. "Someone you don't know." She muttered coldly.

Kaito snickered, like a bully who just saw the nerd got pranked. "Bet you picked it up from the ground."

Aoko scowled and glared at him sideways. She didn't get it. At one moment he was a flirty bastard, and another moment he was so cold and cruel to her. And now he was back with the teases? What the hell?  _What the hell?_

"Why are you even here?"

"Why not?" He said, tilting his head.

"Coming and going whenever you like… " She paused, finding her own words familiar but not sure why it was.

"Technically I own this building, so I can."

" _Right_ , I almost forgotten you're my landlord." Aoko scoffed. "Didn't you go somewhere south?"

"Yeah." He shrugged broadly (and Aoko thought his shoulders looked weightless and carefree, for some reason).

She sneered. "Why didn't you stay there for good?"

"And why so many questions? Do you not want me to be here?"

"That's not it." Aoko blurted and regretted immediately. She was showing her cards too fast when his expressions was close to a poker-face, saved for the little tug on the corner of his lips.

"I have a few matters I need to do here." He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "And… I thought I owe you something."

"What do you owe me?" She asked cautiously. An apology? An apology? Or an apology? That was really all she could think of-

"A compliment; about your curry." His eyes grew a little distant, but his smile remained intact. "It's good. It reminds me of the taste that my mom once cooked."

Her whole body froze, right from head to toe. The apology she thought she wanted was thrown off her balcony right there and then, and she accepted the compliment with broad arms (just that she was too numbed with shock to move). If she had to compliment Kaito back for one thing, it was his skill at surprising her every time;

His presence, words, and everything.

She'd totally forgotten about her dedication page after so long. She wondered if he...

"So, compared to the rose from that  _Someone I Don't Know_ , I've got something even better." He put a hand behind his back and moved closer towards her and the railings. She thought he was about to jump over, but he didn't. Instead, he whipped out the hand he hid, and it wasn't just the hand that appeared.

It was a bouquet of fresh, red roses,

She gaped in silence, her grasp of the stalk of rose in her hand tightened.

"For you, as thanks for all the curry you cooked for me." He said, fiddling with the petals in the bouquet while counting to himself incoherently. "Each stalk represents the number of times I- Oi! What are you doing?"

Aoko had climbed on her railings by the time he looked up at her with widened eyes. She wriggled her toes, exposing it over the railings and down the building. It wasn't often to see a  _Shocked Kaito_ , and it was pretty refreshing, given that between the two of them, she was often the one with that emotion.

"Doing exactly what you always do." She mocked.

"Are you-!"

She didn't wait for him to finish and jumped.

Time seemed to have stopped still at that moment and began playing in slow motion. Kaito stepped to his left, the spot where Aoko intended to land, and spread out his arms. It was too late for her to change her position, much less stop, and she collided right into his chest and both fell onto the ground.

The impact caused the bouquet to fly out of Kaito's hand, the roses petals scattered over the fallen duo like showers.

As two pairs of blue eyes met, faces close and breathing in sync, time started ticking at a normal pace again.

" _Fuck,_ " Kaito closed his eyes and wheezed under her, startling Aoko.

Realizing the predicament they were in, she hastily rolled over to her side—her legs untangling from his—and kneeled before him. "Ar-Are you okay?"

"More like are _you_ okay?" He muttered, rubbing his chest and slowly sat up. "Your brain, that is."

Her concern was gone as she slapped the side of his arm in frustration and got up to her feet. "I could have landed perfectly if you didn't intercept my jump!"

"How could I not?" He argued. When he tried to stand, he winced, one hand clutching onto his chest.

"D-Did you break a bone somewhere?" Aoko bit her lips.

"I rather break a bone than dying from the heart attack you nearly gave me." He scowled.

Aoko stuck out her tongue. "Now you know how I feel."

"That, I always do."

What she meant was for the times when he jumped over from his balcony to hers, but the way Kaito's eyes slightly softened told her his answers meant more than it, meant more than what she could imagine-

"Now the flowers are slightly ruined." He muttered, bringing her back to the reality she still thought was a dream. He picked the bouquet from the floor and blew out a breath, blowing a few loose petals out of the stalks and onto the ground. "A bit damaged, but it fits you for a mad woman."

"I'll rather call myself a  _determined_  woman." Aoko said, snatching the bouquet from his hand, just like the time outside the hospital.

It seemed she wasn't the only one who thought of the memory. Kaito chuckled. "Deja Vu, don't you think?"

He might laugh even louder if she told him every day was a Deja Vu to her. She squeezed her grip around the bouquet and looked up at him solemnly. "Are you a florist?"

"Huh-?" Kaito choked on pure exaggeration and burst out laughing. Aoko was tempted to slap his arm again, but she waited for him to finish.

It had been long since she heard it anyway.

"No, I'm not a florist." He finally regained his composure enough to answer.

"Okay," Aoko nodded. Still with the rose she got from Kid in her other hand, she arranged a space within the bouquet, to fit the lone stalk into its new home.

It looked perfect, as if it belonged there all along.

"If you're not a florist… then you must be Kaitou Kid."

His smile faded, and his face creased. It reminded her of the night when she first saw something more to Kuroba Kaito, the night when they shared more things than they ever did. She knew he was conflicted about something, and he gave in to the confliction, refusing to let on anything besides ending the night abruptly by lying the breeze was gone and told her a goodnight instead.

He looked exactly like that now.

"You're Kaitou Kid." She repeated.

"Was."

"...What?"

"I  _was_ Kaitou Kid." He said. "Kid's retired now."

Usually after he made some silly remark or did something stupid, she'd comment and guess what possible job he had, and no matter what it was, his reply would come with a laugh and followed by a shake of head, depicting she was wrong; And even if she was wrong, she never seemed to mind. A mystery was only a mystery when it remained unsolved. And he was that mystery. So when the mystery fell apart for the first time ever, all she could really do was to stare at it, eyes wide and mouth gaping open, too dumbfounded to respond.

A thick silence fell and her tongue itched terribly, hoping to break it, but he gladly helped her with that.

"What wrong?" He asked. "Didn't expect your guess to be right?"

"Yes." Aoko admitted, her cheeks red and hot. She felt herself burning, and she wasn't sure why. "I thought i-it's... impossible."

"Of course." Kaito grinned. "Can't believe someone you know turns out to be a criminal?"

She didn't like his snarky tone, not at all. And if he could do it, she thought she could do it better. "In case you've forgotten, I did claim that you're a criminal the first time we met."

His cheeks twitched once he found the memory, and the tense moment in the atmosphere disappeared, just a little bit. "Ha, yes you did." He said.

"What I meant impossible was your age. It doesn't match up to the Kaitou Kid from over a decade ago. Unless-" Aoko widened her eyes. "Don't tell me you're a Vampire?"

Kaito laughed again, and she couldn't help but noticed it was louder this time. "You never fail to impress me with your imagination."

"...Then you're serious?"

He shook his head, his laughter dying but still ringing in the air. "I'm not a vampire, Ahouko."

"I'm not asking about that, Bakaito."

His sudden stern expression made her feel stupid for doubting him. "Of course I'm serious."

"But-"

"The Kaitou Kid that appeared a few hours ago was me." He explained, each words being said slowly for her to digest. "The Kaitou Kid that disappeared years ago was my father."

_"It doesn't disregard the fact that you've stolen so many things in the past."_

Aoko closed her eyes, wishing the memory to be burnt off her mind. How… cruel had she been?

"The first Kaitou Kid—your father, did he disappear because he..." She mumbled, and then winced at the level of awkwardness in her tone.

His fingers wrapped around the railings, knuckles turning white as he did so, and she understood the extent of how this conversation was a painful thing for him. "Yeah." He answered, even though Aoko hadn't got to ask the question in full.

It was too obvious anyway.

"So which is scarier?" He glanced at her. "Having a criminal or a Vampire just an arm away from you?"

"I ran out of garlic, so…"

Kaito snorted. "And if you have garlic-"

"I'm not scared of you."

He watched her silently before a smirk ruined his plain facade. "Aren't you afraid of criminals? You quitted a job because of it."

"You should know there's more to it than that." Aoko gritted her teeth and took in a deep breath. "Actually, come to think of it, you actually know  _a lot of things_  about me."

He obviously sensed her sarcasm. "What exactly do I know about you?"

"About my father—Inspector Nakamori." His silence encouraged her to continue, knowing she hit the jackpot. "Since when did you know about my relationship with him?"

"I know your family name, but I've never considered your possible relationship with Inspector Nakamori. I only knew when I saw him at the hospital and you coming out from his ward." He licked his lips, his head kept shaking in distress. "But if you think that I got close to you to gain some advantage as Kid, I can swear to you that I didn't. I really-"

"You don't have to explain, I understand." She cut him off. This was the first time she ever heard blabber, and she hated the sound of desperation in his tone. It didn't fit him at all. "And this isn't my main point for bringing up about my father."

He looked at her in puzzlement. "Then what is it?"

"You saved him."

His sudden lack of expression hinted as if he knew she knew about it. "I didn't save your father." He muttered. "I only prevented him from getting shot."

"It's the same thing."

"Not for me."

"Whatever you think it is, I want to thank you."

His eyebrows shot up to his forehead. "Are you thanking a criminal now?"

She gritted her teeth. "So what if it is? A thanks apply to everyone in the world, regardless of who you are."

He shook her head. "You're smart yet naive at the same time. How do you pull that off?"

"Then what about you? Kid's supposed to be a criminal, yet you did something good? How do you pull that off?"

Kaito shrugged and leaned his back against the railing, looking absolutely casual, relaxed and almost confident, just like the Kid she saw on the roof and the Kid she saw in the old videos from the past heists. Kaito and Kaitou Kid and the  _first_ Kaitou Kid… Her mind was still reeling from everything, but pieces of memories and moments were slowly popping up in her head, connecting those invisible dots she never knew existed until after she knew the truth.

Even if Kaito was Kaitou Kid just once, the traits of Kaitou Kid had always been in him. Like blood.

"...am I?"

Aoko straightened, her face alert but it was a second too late as she missed out whatever Kaito had just said. "Did you say something?"

"I asked what am I?" He paused, and her face must have still looked confused as he elaborated again. "The bad in the good or the good in the bad?"

Who he was, huh.

All she saw was a landlord that stupidly tried to break into his own house, the sort-of-nice man who helped to fix her tap, the guilty friend that tried to visit the person he couldn't face, and the little child that liked her curry because it tasted like his mom's.

Kaitou Kid?

_"Maybe those criminals you'd written about didn't want to be the person they had to be."_

Aoko shook her head. "I don't see either. All I see is you."

Kaito sighed and rubbed a hand down his face, hiding his chuckles. "As poetic as ever."

"What I said is the truth."

He looked up, one of his eyes looking at her through the gap of his fingers. "And now you know, are you going to turn me in?"

"There's no need for me when Kudo-kun or Hakuba Saguru could have done it."

Kaito rolled his eyes. "They have nothing on me."

She frowned. "Then what do I have?"

"A choice."

"What makes you think that I'll turn you in?"

"For the greater good? If you do, everyone staying in this building doesn't need to pay rents anymore."

"Oh yes, that includes myself too, huh?" Aoko drawled sarcastically. "What a fantastic opportunity."

"Damn right."

Aoko scowled and raised her arm, shaking the bouquet in her hand. She was just  _this_  close, so  _damn_  close, to slap it across his face if she wasn't worried it'd further destroy the flowers (Why was so always so damn concern over the flowers anyway?).

"You think I'll turn you in just for that?"

"I don't know. But it's still a good guess."

"Why?" Aoko heaved in exasperation. "Why are you admitting this now? This conversation wouldn't happen if you lied and said you're not Kaitou Kid." She sniffed, but she quickly covered it with a short laugh. "Because in the end I'll still believe you."

Something flickered in his eyes, and for a moment Aoko thought he was going to-

"I had my reasons back then and that's why I couldn't tell you anything." His hesitance was telling as he lowered his gaze. "But now that those reasons don't matter anymore, I want to be truthful to you."

"Then why did you ask if I want to turn you in? What's the point of it?"

"...I don't want to put you in a tight spot." He muttered lamely in the end.

"You don't want to put me in a tight spot? You. Don't want to. Put me. IN A TIGHT SPOT?" Aoko wanted to laugh. "So asking me to turn you in will put me in a  _great spot_?"

Kaito didn't answer, which was good because she needed some time before she burst a blood vessel. She felt her breathes slowing down and could hear the breeze in the air rather than the frustrated thumping heartbeat in her ears, and after regaining half of her composure, she glanced at him.

He looked like a lost boy.

Funny thing when he was the one who decided to pop back in her life again and started this conversation, though it clearly didn't seem to be going well for him. Just who exactly was more prepared for this?

Aoko sighed. "At least... tell me the reasons you said had held you back."

Kaito jerked his head up at her. "You want to know?"

She nodded. "I'm not a judge who can clear Kaitou Kid's crime, but at least that can help me to forgive Kuroba Kaito. You can't give me the first two chapters of a book and expect me to conclude the whole story by myself. I need a start, the middle, and an end."

He suddenly laughed, surprising Aoko. She found herself like a fool even though she was being as serious as she could.

In response, her eyes changed from the focused, solemn-like to narrowed, irritation-filled. "What's so funny?" She muttered.

"You can relate anything to writing, huh?"

"Yes, thank you very much. So, what's your decision?" She spat, not afraid to expose her impatience. "Or is this another  _trade secret_  you can't reveal?"

"I can tell you. But it'll take a long night."

"Is that supposed to scare me?"

"No," He smiled. "It's just a warning."

His smile this time was genuine, and her heart soared knowing that she was the one that put it there. "Okay," she cleared her throat, hoping to dispel the sudden tightness in her chest. "If you're afraid of the thirst, I have some orange juice and a couple of mugs for you to choose-"

"Wait." Kaito interrupted, stopping her blabbers and attempt to leave his balcony. "Before that, there's still one more thing I haven't tell you."

Aoko quirked an eyebrow, watching him carefully. When she realized he was serious, she pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. "Is it as bizarre as everything you've said?"

"Hmm, maybe."

She sighed. "I'm all prepared. You can tell me now."

And Kaito didn't hesitate.

"I love you, Aoko." He said. "And my biggest regret is telling you goodbye that day."

Aoko blinked.

Then, heart pounding so hard her chest ached, she squeezed her eyes shut. Even up till now, she thought of the possibility that everything was a dream; the thing she was holding wasn't the bouquet and the ground she was standing on wasn't his balcony. She wasn't here, and he wasn't there. And once she opened her eyes, everything would be nothing. Just her ceiling in her dark room.

Her throat turned sour at the thought. _Oh God,_  if this really was a dream, she was pretty sure she might actually cry herself to death-

Something suddenly brushed against her arm and Aoko jolted, her eyes flung open wide. It was Kaito's hand.

"Sorry." He lowered his arm. "But are you okay?"

This was definitely not a dream.

"I'm fine! I just..." Couldn't breathe. Couldn't speak. Couldn't feel her heartbeat for two seconds. And more importantly, she couldn't-  _couldn't believe this._

She felt her face starting to burn.

Previously bookmarked and left on the shelves, forgotten, the book about their story was finally flipping again. They already passed the start and were somewhere in the middle, still trying to figure things out. But no matter the pace of the flipping or the length of each chapter, the story was unfolding one page at a time, and ultimately, they would reach the ending.

The ending she no longer had to imagine.

"It seems like Nakamori Aoko is unable to respond." Kaito suddenly spoke, snapping Aoko's thoughts. He was talking into his fist, as if he was holding onto an invisible microphone. "The cause of reason is unknown, but the symptom for her sudden silence seems to be related to her face; She is currently blushing-"

Aoko growled and slapped his arm, her face growing even redder thanks to that. "Why are you saying it out loud?!"

He broke into a huge grin. "That's what animal documentaries are for. We speak for the animals who can't."

"Are you calling me an animal?!"

"Your face does look as red as a monkey's butt now."

"Till this day," Aoko breathed, trying to gain inner peace. "It's still a surprise that you never work in a sewer before when you're so full of shit."

Kaito arched an eyebrow, looking amused. "Are you still guessing all these while?"

That was such an obvious answer. "You  _were_  Kaitou Kid, then what are you now?"

He shrugged carelessly.

Aoko huffed. "Why don't you just tell me too?"

"It keeps things interesting, though the challenge is always open." Kaito grinned, eyes glinting with something Aoko never seen before. "But with every wrong answer, you'll have to let me kiss you."

She was thankful her face was already red to begin with; This add-on embarrassment wouldn't change that. "And if I guess right on my first try?" She blurted, hoping her voice remained cool.

"No kiss, but of course you can deliberately guess it wrong. That's still fine by me."

Aoko rolled her eyes. She already had an answer in mind after all these time, and thinking back about it, she wondered how she'd missed that one on her list of possible professions when it was a perfect fit all along.

"You're a magician." She said.

Kaito blinked, the grin on his face was gone. "...Nope." He mumbled.

"I  _don't_ believe you." Aoko squinted her eyes as she watched Kaito deliberately looking away. "You're  _a_ magician."

"I'm not."

"Yes you are." She smirked. "I see that there's no wrongs for your kiss to happen."

Kaito sighed and gave a shrug. "Then I guess I'll just have to steal it then."

"What-?"

As fast as he finished his sentence, he cupped both side of her cheeks, leaned forward, and kissed her right on the lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY IT'S DONE. Thank you for reading!!! You have come to an end of this monster-length fic...  
> Reviews are always appreciated!


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